It's mock trade season, and the Atlanta Braves have seen their fair share of roster movement brainstorming. One of the latest trade idea has the Braves making a splash move with the members of the southside.
Zach Presnell of Newsweek and SI recently proposed a trade that would bring White Sox star Luis Robert Jr. to Atlanta to sure up their outfield. In this scenario he has the Braves sending back Bryce Elder, Nacho Alvarez, and David McCabe (Braves 13th ranked prospect) to Chicago.
I understand his thinking, but it's extremely likely that the Braves would have to offer up much more than this suggested package. Plus, Chicago would be selling low on Robert Jr., who is coming off his worst season by fWAR as a pro. Nonetheless, it's worth speculating if a move for Robert Jr. is a smart one for the Braves to pull off, or if it's a move Anthopoulos needs to avoid.
Trading for Robert Jr. has high risk/high reward potential
Because of the talent Robert Jr. is, he would require really good prospects going to Chicago to make this trade happen. That's the risk involved with this deal. However, Robert at his best could sure up Atlanta's outfield for years to come.
Robert Jr. could also just fail to rebound from his career worst 2024 season. Last year he slashed .224/.278/.379, had a 84 wRC+, and career low 0.5 fWAR season. He struck out a ton and walked very little so it's no surprise his numbers suffered. If it goes down from there it would be really tough to swallow trading any talent to Chicago for non-starter like production.
However, when you look at the potential Robert Jr. has and some of his past numbers, his bounce back candidacy seems to be more plausible. Just a couple seasons ago Luis Robert Jr. was an All-Star and enjoyed a career best season.
In 2023 he slashed .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers, 20 stolen bases, 128 wRC+, ranked in the 98th percentile in OAA, and accumulated a career-high 4.9 fWAR. That fWAR mark put him in the top ten amongst qualified American League position players.
470-foot CRUSH JOB off the bat of Luis Robert Jr. pic.twitter.com/FZ5COqpS7c
— MLB (@MLB) June 29, 2024
Robert Jr. also comes at a $15 million price tag in 2025, with club options at $20 million 2026 and 2027. Should he regain his 2023 form that price is well worth the production. Should he not, you can cut bait after one season and not be stuck with years of bad money on the books.
At 27 years-old Robert Jr. is still a mysterious player. His 2024 season was bad, but it's also important to remember the 2024 White Sox were the worst team in modern baseball history. Once you use that context it makes a little more sense why a guy may have looked unmotivated at times on the diamond last season.
The Braves tried to buy a lottery ticket fix for the outfield last offseason by acquiring Jarred Kelenic. This time around a move for Robert Jr. would give fans more hope that left field could once again become a spot for consistent production in Atlanta.