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Mets Add Struggling Luis Robert to Outfield in Poloarizing Trade

 Well we have finally hit that point in the off-season where we have the one trade that has Mets fans fighting with one another. 

New York acquired Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox for infielder Luisangel Acuna and righty Truman Pauley in a polarizing move that has Mets fans either loving or hating the move. 

Here are the facts: the Mets are taking a huge swing on a right-handed hitter who has a gold glove in center field, but has been madly inconsistent at the plate and consistently dealing with injuries. Those are the facts. Robert Jr. is also to make $20 million this season, with a club option for $20 million in 2027. 

While some have praised the move as "low risk" and "high reward," to make such a claim is a bit of a stretch.  

Yes, Robert is very good in the outfield; his range is exceptional, and his speed both in the field and on the base paths are noted. 

In fact, of all the offensive numbers Robert has posted in his career, stolen bases are the one category that have gone up. He stole a career best 33 bags in 2025. 

Yet it is the rest of the package that has a lot of Mets fans deeply concerned. 

Robert has had only one season where he played truly healthy, in 2023, where he played in 145 games, hit 38 homers and drove in 80. That was three years ago. Each of the last two years, he has battled injuries, and struggled to stay consistent at the plate. 

His slash line in 2024 was .224/278/.379 with a .657 OPS.  Last season wasn't much better, as Robert produced a slash line of .223/.297/.364 with an OPS of .661.  Moreover he's developed a reputation as a strikeout machine. In 2023 he struck out 172 times to only 30 walks. 

If you do a comparison, Robert is best comparable to former Met Cedric Mullins, whom the team infamously acquired last season from Baltimore at the trade deadline, and he proceeded to struggle, hitting .182 in 42 games in Flushing, Queens. 

In fact if you compare both Robert and Mullins together, they both have the same WAR of 15.8. That's scary if you are the Mets. Compare Robert to Brandon Nimmo, and it's no contest, Nimmo wins hands down. Not only does Nimmo present a higher WAR of 26.1, he's been a much more consistent hitter, and just as good an outfielder as Robert. And Nimmo played all three positions in the outfield as compared to Robert. 

Still, the Pro-Robert crowd have pointed out his high OPS against left-handed pitchers. Last season Robert hit .258 against lefties. In 2023, his best season he hit .312 against lefties. But those numbers dip hard against right handed pitchers. 

There is a lot to be concerned about here.  While we can toss around the word potential and high upside, the fact is Robert will be 29 in August, and we are still talking about his potential. He needs to stay healthy for starters, and if he can do that he may have a significant impact. If he doesn't that is an expensive player to have sitting on the bench while Carson Benge swings over from left field to his more natural center field. 

 

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