SF Giants were wise to not pull trigger on Luis Robert Jr. trade

Recent reporting suggests that the SF Giants were involved in trade talks with the Chicago White Sox for Luis Robert Jr. A deal did not come to fruition, but that is probably the best for San Francisco because they would have had to give up too much.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to link the Giants to Robert Jr. and his article can be read here (subscription required). San Francisco was one of several teams involved in trade talks for the outfielder with the Cincinnati Reds also being heavily involved in trade talks. Ultimately, it seems the White Sox will keep Robert Jr. going into spring training but may still opt to trade him at some point.

SF Giants wise not to trade for Luis Robert Jr.

The 27 year old outfielder is an interesting player because he had a stellar 2023 campaign for Chicago, slashing .264/.315/.542 with 38 home runs, 80 RBI, and 20 stolen bases which earned him an All-Star nod. He dropped off quite a bit in 2024 though, slashing .224/.278/.379 with 14 home runs, 35 RBI, and 32 stolen bases in 100 games played.

A recent article by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors highlighted the difficulty in getting both sides to feel good about a trade for Robert Jr. The White Sox want premium prospects because they know at his peak Robert Jr. can be a premier talent, but other teams are looking at his poor 2024 campaign and are not eager to give up their best prospects to get a guy who may be on the decline and is still owed $15 million in 2025.

It would not be surprising at all if the White Sox were asking the Giants for top prospect Bryce Eldridge in return for Robert Jr. which just seems like a nonstarter for San Francisco at this point. Eldridge has a ton of promise and it would be unwise for the Giants to part with him for an outfielder who they may not even need.

The Giants have three solid outfielders in Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee, and Mike Yastrzemski. Maybe if the Giants could have swung a trade of Yastrzemski and pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt in exchange for Robert Jr. it may have been worth it, but even that carries a decent amount of risk.

With the White Sox in full-on rebuild mode, one can only imagine they are trying to accrue as many prospects as possible. But the Giants should also be careful and should try to hang on to their prospects because they are most likely a few years off from being true contenders.

There is just too much risk surrounding Robert Jr. for the Giants to trade for him, so they have been wise not to make a shortsighted trade for the White Sox outfielder.