Luis Robert Jr. is still wearing a Chicago White Sox uniform, and he’s on fire.
That could’ve been for the New York Mets, but they opted not to pay the price it would take to get him before the MLB trade deadline.
On Friday, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman broke down what exactly the Mets refused to do.
Turns out, there were four names of interest that the Mets wouldn’t give up:
- Mark Vientos
- Luisangel Acuña
- Jacob Reimer
- A.J. Ewing
Vientos is an established MLB third baseman who was better last season than this but still has a lot of power-hitting upside.
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Acuña is Ronald’s little brother, has speed and can play all over the field.
Reimer is a minor league slugger who has split the season between High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton.
And Ewing is a leadoff-type hitter who has reached High-A Brooklyn this season.
Just how hot is Robert?
He went 3-for-4 Thursday to raise his average since July 11 to .496. In that span, he has four homers, 14 RBI, 18 runs scored and nine stolen bases.
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The Mets ended up getting Cedric Mullins from the Orioles instead. That’s still a centerfield upgrade in Queens.
The difference with Robert is that he’d be under club control for the next two seasons on a pair of $20 million team options.
But this is the path the Mets took. They’ll just have to hope it works out, and it’ll feel better if a couple of those young players turn into stars themselves down the road.
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