The Chicago White Sox’s rebuild is nearly complete, but there is still one star left on the team. It seems like just a matter of time until the White Sox trade Luis Robert. The centerfielder had a great spring training, and now that the regular season has begun and the White Sox are again struggling, a trade could be right around the corner. The Philadelphia Phillies seem like an ideal trading partner for the White Sox, but what trade package makes sense for both sides?
Phillies trade proposal for Luis Robert
Phillies receive: Luis Robert
White Sox receive: Justin Crawford (Phillies No. 3, MLB No. 63), Gabriel Rincones Jr. (Phillies No. 10), Aroon Escobar (Phillies No. 13)
The Phillies have been World Series contenders for years now, but they haven’t been able to bring home the Commissioner’s Trophy with their current core. Contenders who need to get over the hump tend to make trades during the regular season, so a Robert to Philadelphia trade makes a lot of sense.
The Phillies are stacked on offense, so Robert would fit right in because he has middle-of-the-order talent. Having so much talent around him would take some of the pressure off and potentially change how teams pitch to their lineup. He’d help on defense as well. Robert has killer speed, which is something the Phillies lack.
Robert has struggled with injuries and plate discipline at times during his career, but at his best, he is one of the rare true five-tool players in baseball. He has hit as many as 38 home runs in a season, and he has a .338 batting average year to his name. Robert is a somewhat high-risk, high-reward trade target due to his injury history, but he can also outplay what is expected of him as of now due to his star-level potential. The return on investment could be huge in a Robert trade because his trade value isn’t super high right now.
Taking a look at the rebuild in Chicago
In 2016, the White Sox blew things up and started one of the biggest rebuilds in the MLB has ever seen. They traded every one of note from their roster and created the best farm system in baseball at the time. Over two days, Chicago traded Chris Sale and Adam Eaton away for Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Dane Dunning, Reynaldo Lopez, and Lucas Giolito.
The team would continue to trade for, draft, and sign elite prospects over the next couple of years. Perhaps the face of their rebuild was Robert. The outfielder from Cuba signed a contract as an international free agent with the White Sox in 2017, and he eventually agreed to a six-year, $40 million deal in 2020 before even reaching the major league level. Not long after that, he established himself as the best player on the team.
The rebuild seemed to pay off, as Chicago looked like a legitimate World Series contender by 2021. That year, they won 93 games with a young roster that looked like it could contend for years to come. Robert was looking like an All-Star caliber player, and he’d win that award in 2023, but the wheels fell off for the outfielder and his team quickly.
By 2024, the team had to blow things up yet again and start their rebuild over. The White Sox had one of the worst seasons ever, as they went 41-121. That set the record for the most losses in the modern era. Over the course of the last two seasons, the team has been trading all of their veteran talent, a lot of which were among their prized prospect possessions only a few years prior.
They’ve held onto Robert so far, but a trade is inevitable. Holding onto the star made sense last year, considering his trade value was at an all-time low due to poor play and injuries. Robert seems to be stringing together a good run of health and production, though, and that is helping rejuvenate his trade value. When said trade value reaches a perceived maximum, the White Sox should cash in on a trade that brings in even more young talent. Perhaps the second rebuild will be the charm in Chicago.
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