White Sox plan to be 'very active' in upgrading roster after trading center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

It wasn’t surprising that the White Sox traded center fielder Luis Robert Jr. on Tuesday to the Mets.

Robert had been the center of trade speculation for years as his performance at the plate cratered. He was the last remaining player from the 2021 Sox that advanced to the 2021 American League Division Series. It was time for Robert and the Sox to part ways.

“Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the consistency that he had hoped, or we had hoped,” general manager Chris Getz said Tuesday on Zoom. “If you can rewind the clock and look at his ’23 and prior seasons, they were really impactful for this organization, and he deserves a lot of credit for doing that. The last couple of years it just hasn’t been there. We felt like it was time to make this move, turn the page and continue this build forward.”

But the timing is curious because Getz has talked all offseason about wanting the 2026 White Sox to be a better team. But trading Robert, even in a diminished state, for two players (23-year-old utility player Luisangel Acuna and 22-year-old right-hander Truman Pauley) makes the Sox worse.

Given that the Mets absorbed the entire $20 million owed to Robert, the Sox now have some financial flexibility to upgrade their roster. Even with a thin outfield comprised of Andrew Benintendi and a lot of question marks, Getz doesn't believe that money has to go into addressing that position group.

“But it’s [about] increasing talent on the team to help us win ballgames," Getz said. "That could come in starting pitching, relievers, balancing right-handed vs. left-handed. So we are very open-minded and excited in getting to work in being creative and bringing in that talent.”

Getz said that the organization is excited about being able to bring in Acunua with five-plus years of team control — though he’s out of minor-league options.

“We have opportunity here and we can provide that runway to show off his talent and his ability and his ceiling, which the industry has been very high on this player for a long time,” Getz said. “We've been tracking him for a long time.”

Acuna will likely be the Sox’ main option in center field, barring a late signing or an accelerated developmental timeline for prospect Braden Montgomery. Pauley is a bet on a guy with elite velocity that hasn’t been able to harness it in the zone.

The return for Robert was much like his tenure with the Sox: underwhelming. But that was to be expected considering the hefty $20 million contract and injury risk attached to him. The Mets taking on the entirety of Robert’s contract — which is a major part of the deal — likely affected the type of prospect available to the Sox.

Getz said that because of the trade, the Sox have “some financial flexibility now to continue to bring in talent.” This trade only makes sense for the Sox if they plan on using that payroll flexibility on the current team.

Fans have been patient as Getz tore down and rebuilt the roster, acquiring prospects while watching the 2024 team lose a modern-era record 121 games.

The outfield was already thin with Robert, it looks especially bleak without him. Getz said that defense should be strong with Everson Pereira and Acunua, and that he would want to add a bat to supplement the group.

The Sox have many areas to improve, now it’s on Getz and his new financial flexibility to address them.

“We plan on being very active,” Getz said. “We've already been talking to agents and clubs and anticipate a roster that's going to continue to evolve."