The Mets and White Sox were in contact for a long time.
New York showed interest in dynamic center fielder Luis Robert Jr. ahead of last year’s deadline, but Chicago ultimately decided to hold onto him and exercise his club option.
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Talks reignited this winter with the Mets still in search of outfield help, and the two sides were finally able to come to terms on an agreement on Tuesday night.
In exchange, New York sent Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley to Chicago.
While there are some red flags in his profile, the 28-year-old Robert brings an intriguing change of scenery candidate into the everyday role in center in Flushing.
For the White Sox, the deal not only opens up some financial flexibility, but it also adds another intriguing young piece in Acuña to their up-and-coming roster.
The 23-year-old is someone GM Chris Getz says they’ve been tracking for a long time.
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“It really is about being able to bring in Acuña,” Getz told reporters Wednesday. “We’re talking about a player that comes with five-plus years of control. One of the younger, more exciting players in our game who hasn’t really gotten a runway at the major league level.
“I know over in New York, they did not want to get rid of him, that’s because of how valuable he can be with a team. Now, he was on a roster that didn’t really allow him to show what he could do on a regular basis, and we’re going to be able to provide that.”
Acuña showed flashes of that upside the White Sox value, but he was ultimately never able to carve out a consistent everyday role with the crowded infield in the Big Apple.
He has just 13 XBH’s and a .640 OPS over his first 214 big-league at-bats.
The youngster wasn’t going to receive that opportunity again with the Mets adding Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette this winter, but now he’ll get his shot in Chicago.
