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The second White Sox rebuild of the past decade has stripped the roster of nearly all its notable veterans, but center fielder stands as a holdover from the teams brief two-year run as a playoff club and a still-prominent trade candidate. Had Robert enjoyed a healthy 2024 campaign hed likely already be gone, because at his best (e.g. 2023), hes proven to be a five-tool, MVP-caliber talent. Staying on the field, however, has been problematic. Robert played only 100 games in 2024 and didnt seem to be at full strength for much of that time. His .224/.278/.379 slash was the worst production of his career. Thats made it tough for the White Sox to find a middle ground in trade conversations. Selling low on such a talented player when hes signed through 2027 $15MM in 2025, plus a pair of $20MM club options for 2026-27 would be a major mi sed opportunity if Robert is able to bounce back with a healthy season. that those hurdles impacted trade talks with both the Giants earlier in the offseason and, much more recently, with the Reds. Cincinnati and Chicago were discu sing Robert as recently as last week and this past weekend, per Rosenthal, with infield prospect among the names who could potentially go back to the Sox. Beyond the difficulty of agreeing on which prospects would be involved, the two parties didnt see eye to eye on how much money the White Sox should include to cover some of the $17MM still guaranteed to Robert. (Theres also a $2MM buyout on his 2026 club option.) At this point, the Sox arent likely to trade Robert prior to John Schreiber Jersey spring training, per the report. Until recently, it seemed as though the Reds had exhausted the majority if not the entirety of their 2025 payroll budget. A late agreement with Main Street Sports/FanDuel Sports Network for their 2025 television broadcasts provided an unexpected bump to president of baseball Nick Kralls budget for the upcoming season, however. That produced renewed talks with reliever who ultimately and likely facilitated the signing of ( ) and of , whom the Reds will pay $6MM next year. (The Giants are covering the other $6MM of his 2025 salary.) Thats $11MM in new payroll added by the Reds (a net $9.5MM over two league-minimum players) since that late TV deal was brokered. Robert alone is guaranteed more than that; even if the White Sox had been willing to kick in $6MM to bring the price down to the same $11MM the Reds wound up spending this past week, that wouldve only addre sed one spot on the roster. Cincinnati would still be looking for more bullpen help and presumably doing so with at a much lower rate than the $6MM theyll end up paying to Rogers. While Arroyo is just one of the names the two parties discu sed, its worth noting that like Robert, hes a volatile player whos difficult to evaluate at present. The 21-year-old middle infielder was a second-round pick out of Puerto Rico by the Mariners back in 2021 and was one of the key prospects shipped to the Reds in 2022s blockbuster. He ranked among the sports top-100 prospects in each of the past two offseasons but suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder last spring. That injury required surgery and wiped out his entire 2024 campaign. Arroyo recovered in time to play in last years Arizona Fall League but in 18 games slashed just .253/.309/.333. Thats not a big enough sample to make a meaningful evaluation, of course, but its nonethele s a far cry from the 2022 production that helped catapult him onto the national prospect radar; that season saw Arroyo hit a combined .293/.366/.480 as an 18-year-old primarily facing much older and more experienced competition in A-ball. A trade involving Robert could yet come together, but the challenges encountered by both the Giants and the Reds in their efforts to pry him from Chicago will persist. The Sox dont want to take a middling return for a player who could command a genuine prospect haul if healthy. Any potential trade partner will be reluctant to trade its very best talent in exchange for a player who mi sed two months with a hip injury and was 16% worse than an average hitter in 2024 even if he popped 38 homers as recently as 2023. The money owed to Robert is a bargain if hes healthy, but thats a major if. Plus, many teams have spent the vast majority of their offseason budget by this point on the calendar. Back in late November, one rival general manager whod spoken to the Sox about Robert rather in working out a trade, telling USA Todays Bob Nightengale at the time: Youve got to hope he finally stays healthy and can be the player everyone envisioned all along, but the White Sox are acting like hes some big star center fielder and are asking for your top prospects. The Sox werent in an entirely di similar situation with a year ago at this time. Cease, who had two seasons of club control remaining then, had finished runner-up in 2022 American League Cy Young voting before a pedestrian 2023 campaign in which he posted a 4.58 ERA with a one-mile drop in average fastball velocity and a corresponding dip in strikeout rate. He came back with a vengeance in spring training with stuff that looked dominant enough to generate a second act on his trade market. The Padres wound up acquiring him on March 13. Its po sible a similar situation could play out with Robert. If he looks healthy and dynamic early in Cactus League play, perhaps therell be some renewed interest and diminished trepidation from interested teams wary about the explosive outfielders health. If not in spring training, even a few weeks of strong play early in the 2025 campaign could pique the interest of other teams. That could create a situation similar to the one that saw the Marlins trade (also to the Padres) early last May. Miamis catastrophic start to the season effectively eliminated them from playoff contention just weeks into the 2024 season. The ChiSox already know full well they wont contend in 2025. If Robert gets out to a torrid start and looks like the 2023 version of himself, putting him on the market in late April or early May would reduce the risk of an injury occurring in the months leading up to the trade deadline while also giving a trade partner an extra few months of production. when discu sing the Guardians challenges in acquiring a center fielder, there simply havent been many or really, any impact options on the trade or free agent markets at the position over the past couple years. That applies not only to the Guards but also to the Giants, Reds, Phillies and other clubs that have sought center field upgrades recently. Clubs like the Red Sox, Mariners, Twins, Tigers, Royals, Pirates and Astros have also coveted right-handed bats and/or outfielders. Any could have interest in a revitalized Robert. For now, the Sox focus will be on getting and keeping Robert as healthy as po sible. If a strong spring or April showing rekindles his trade market, the past interest from both San Francisco and Cincinnati will be worth bearing in mind as the South Siders field new offers. Hunter Dozier Jersey |
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发表于 2026-3-17 15:52:33