In true Chris Getz fashion, the White Sox once again find themselves in a position that warrants more questions than answers. On a cold and random evening in late January, the Sox dealt Luis Robert Jr. out to the Mets for prospects Luisangel Acuña and Truman Pauley. This trade is anything but easy, so let’s dive in.
The Sox set themselves up for a lot of economic flexibility. With New York footing the bill for Robert’s $20 million option exercised in November, Chicago won’t risk overpaying a player who has slashed .223/.288/.372 in 210 games over the past two seasons. In most cases, this financial relief would be welcome. But the Sox aren’t like most teams.
Although Getz hinted that the Sox will spend the freed up $20 million on playersFans know better than to set their expectations too high. Realistically, instead of pursuing qualified free agents, Jerry Reinsdorf will invest roughly $17 million in Munetaka Murakami’s contract this year — a contract that required a hard sell of Getz and Brooks Boyer — and likely spend the remaining $3 million on a pair of one-year relievers.
While trading Robert makes economic sense, money should not be the sole driver of trades.
Acuña headlines a lackluster trade package that doesn’t immediately address the needs of the South Siders. Acuña, MLB’s No. 66 overall prospect in 2024, is best known for his glove and speed on the basepaths. He combined 60-degree speed with impact defense, generating four baserunning runs in 2025 and posting a field run rating of +2 and three Outs Above Average in 2024. To stay in The Show, Chicago must help Acuña improve the quality of his contact, which dropped significantly last season to below 5% for solid and barrel events. While he hasn’t blown anyone out of the water with his production in 2025 (.234/.293/.274 in 95 games), Acuña has proven he can be a faster version of Brooks Baldwin.
Pauley has more unknowns, but leaves fans with a lot of wishful thinking. His stats shouldn’t be weighed heavily in his evaluation, as he has fewer than fifty games under his belt between two years of summer and college ball, plus half a season in Single-A. However, the 20-inch vertical break on his fastball puts him in the pitch dominance in the conversation with pitchers like Chris Sale and Logan Webb, which could be a strong sign of future success if he can keep it in the zone.
Acuña and Pauley both bring a lot of unlocked potential to a team that has yet to prove it can successfully develop players.
It’s hard to understand how the Sox took a strong step in their rebuild with this trade. While no one expected them to get an All-Star after Robert’s low production in his career, they also didn’t acquire a reliable player who can play more than 100 games in right field. Another problem with bringing in an inexperienced utility player like Acuña is that it will be difficult to guarantee him enough playing time to justify trading away a starter. Although Robert was sidelined for 62 games due to various injuries, Acuña will be much more difficult to secure a spot with several other qualified bench players craving a starting job. In terms of immediate impact, Acuña and Pauley won’t increase the win total dramatically, if at all.
The best way for this trade to turn is for the Sox to prepare to be at their peak in 2028, which is sooner than many expected. Chicago added depth to a team whose shallow end of the pool is crowded, but they’re starting to push their young guys closer to the deep end with each at-bat. With a surplus of prospects and an abundance of infielders, the Sox could make a few quick trades to propel them from a fringe playoff contender to a dominant division threat over the next two years, especially if Chicago takes Roch Cholowsky 1/1 in the 2026 draft.
For the first time in nearly a decade, the White Sox find themselves focused on the short- and long-term future instead of the past and present. While this is refreshing, patience is still key for a team whose payroll has consistently ranked in the bottom third of the league.
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