The Dodgers and White Sox previously engaged in trade talks that would’ve sent center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to Los Angeles in exchange for outfielder James Outman and an unnamed “front-line prospect,” according to a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Nightengale notably adds that talks between the sides have been tabled at present, however, and it’s unclear whether these discussions occurred recently or at some point during this past offseason.
That the Dodgers would have interest in Robert is fairly unsurprising. The center fielder was among the most obvious trade candidates of the offseason with Chicago coming off the worst season in MLB history. Robert himself was part of that brutal campaign, as he was limited to just 100 games by injuries and did not perform up to expectations even when healthy with a .224/.278/.379 slash line (84 wRC+). While he stole 23 bases and slugged 14 homers during that time, he was held back by a 33.2% strikeout rate, the highest of his career.
That’s not much of a platform season to market to potential suitors. Between that and the $17MM guaranteed to Robert this season between his $15MM salary and the $2MM buyout of a $20MM team option for 2026, it’s hardly a surprise that the White Sox weren’t able to find the right value for their franchise center fielder. Despite his weak 2024 campaign, however, he did garner interest from clubs like the Reds and Giants this winter. It’s not hard to see why, given that Robert is not too far removed from a 2023 campaign that saw him make his first career All-Star team, finish 12th in AL MVP voting, and win the Silver Slugger award in center field. In 145 games that year, he posted a 128 wRC+, slugged 38 homers, swiped 20 bags, and posted a 5-win campaign (4.9 fWAR, 5.3 bWAR).
That tantalizing upside appears to have intrigued the Dodgers as well. It was reported back in December that Robert was among a number of possible alternatives to Teoscar Hernandez that L.A. was weighing a pursuit of if they were unable to bring the slugger back into the fold via free agency, though that thought experiment ultimately went nowhere when Hernandez re-signed with the club shortly thereafter. Even after bringing Hernandez into the fold, however, adding Robert could make at least some sense for the Dodgers. With Robert installed in center field, L.A. would be much less reliant on Miguel Rojas (and, eventually, Hyeseong Kim) at second base and could instead install switch-hitter Tommy Edman at the position. A stronger defender on the infield like Edman could help Mookie Betts improve as he works on learning shortstop, or could even provide the Dodgers with the ability to begin using Edman at short and Betts at the keystone if the experiment of playing Betts at the most valuable defensive position on the diamond does not work out.
Between the additional flexibility Robert would provide the Dodgers in how they deploy Edman and his previous heights as a star player, it’s not hard to see why the club would have some level of interest in him. The discussions reported by Nightengale suggest that Outman would be a key part of the return, which could make plenty of sense for both sides. Outman, 28 next month, finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting back in 2023 with an excellent debut season where he hit .248/.353/.437 (118 wRC+) as Los Angeles’s regular center fielder. Unfortunately, his sophomore season did not go nearly as well as he struck out in 35.3% of his plate appearances, posted a wRC+ of just 54, and was below replacement level in 53 games.
In some regards, Outman is a somewhat similar player to Robert, albeit with a far lower ceiling. Outman currently isn’t slated to hit free agency until after the 2030 season, which could also be attractive to the rebuilding White Sox. He evidently wouldn’t have been the only piece Chicago received had the trade been consummated, though it’s unclear whether the “front-line” prospect involved would be a top-100 type talent like southpaw Jackson Ferris or shortstop Alex Freeland or perhaps a less flashy name like righty Nick Frasso or outfielder Kendall George. What the hypothetical trade would have ended up looking like, it’s clear the sides aren’t currently discussing a deal at this point. Perhaps they could circle back and reignite talks closer to the trade deadline, when Robert is sure to be on the market ahead of the final guaranteed year of his contract.
Totally would fit right in with the whole can’t hit worth a damn theme they’ve got going currently
.228 team average is just abysmal for how much money they’ve spent on this team.
They’ve still got 145 games left to play, as much as I love to see them struggle lately.
Exactly, wake me up in August
Probably September
Fred – They haven’t even faced Pivetta yet, you think they will be able to hit him?
Yes
Colorado has the same average so I’m sure they would love to have an 11-5 record and an 111 wRC+. Oops, I guess average isn’t so important.
11-6
Losing the series to the Phillies
Losing the series to the nationals
Losing the series to the cubs
a billion dollars deferred
332 million on payroll so far
Guess they’re deferring hitting balls until 2026.
Saying the Rockies have the same average with 1/3 the payroll and limited talent isn’t something to be proud of lmao. That just further speaks to how sad things are right now when you’ve invested as much as the dodgers have this year.
@Easy as 1 2 3
I could care less about the payroll. You brought up the average as if it was some logical argument. Sadly, for you, it was a terrible example. Dodgers are still scoring runs at 111 wRC+ while the Rockies are sitting at 69 wRC+.
Your team just suffered the worst loss in franchise history getting obliterated 16-0 only to follow that up with losing the series 4-2 together and you don’t care about payroll lmao.
6-6 in their last 12. Offense is falling apart. Scoring 4 or less runs in 11 of their last 12. You know how you improve that. Getting average up getting guys on base. Wrc doesn’t win games. Guys on base does. Can’t score runs or put up enough runs if guys aren’t on base which shows through their abysmal average as a team.
.228 tells us they’re not getting enough guys on base. And it’s reflecting in their performance and offensive numbers. You’re welcome.
Hey. I’m a Rangers fan and I’ve seen worse from our offense.
@Easy as 1 2 3
I’m not even a Dodgers fan. But, let’s look at all the other teams expected to be in the playoffs this year. Yankees, .500 team. Brewers, .500 team. Braves, tied with the ChiSox for the second worst record in baseball.
Oh no! What’s the baseball world going to do about performance in early April?
I can’t give too much credence to April standings. If they are still hitting .228 and are in 3rd place by Memorial Day, then maybe start worrying
And none of those teams spent as much as the dodgers did. Not anywhere close to what the dodgers spent.
This is what 331 million and 1 billion deferred gets you?
Dodger fans should be pissed.
@Clofreesz
Texas has a team average of .218 and a wRC+ of 84 and 10th best team in baseball. Go Rangers!
“Dodger fans should be pissed” –
Over a bad week? Nah.
They’re still on pace for over 100 wins.
Dodger fans know that the regular season is just prep for playoffs.
I know it’s only April, but I’m gloating. Suck it, Dodgers!
They lost 3 series in a row last season too. How did that end?
I’m getting it in before the inevitable. Suck it, Dodgers!
Labor Day
You just want the dodgers to be failures and the fans to be mad. We aren’t, it’s April and the team will be fine. Sorry to be happy dude
Already living in the past cause they’re sucking hard already in April.
Dodgers don’t win it all it’ll be the biggest failure ever of any of the 4 major sports in their entire existence. Dodger fans will have to use paper bags to hide their faces in shame it’ll be that bad of an outcome remembered throughout eternity.
More so than the bills losing 4 straight super bowls or the 18-0 pats losing to the giants or falcons blowing a 28-3 lead. Dodgers will officially hold the biggest let down ever in any sport. Deferral jokes will reign supreme for decades.,
Guys this 123 guy is just a troll. All of these points he has are so irrelevant and I’m not even a Dodgers fan. You can’t draw significant conclusions from April
They have to win the World Series every year from the rest of existence or you will be barking running on wals
Wake us up in October if you’re still following baseball. Make that ANY October because as a Rockies fan you’re in for a very long wait for relevance.
Pissed???? April means squat. Pretty much nothing until August matters to LA. As long as they’re healthy and make the post season, they are the odds on favorite even if they lose 15 straight more games.
April-July
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
Obviously you are pissed, 123. Stop betting on them and lay off the sauce. They haven’t played 20 games yet.
The dodgers are currently on pace, for 105 wins, I’m not a dodgers fan but I’m sure none of them are mad about that
York – The Rangers have the best cheerleaders in MLB too!!
In April? Nah.. This team is going to cause damage. It’s fun to watch other fan bases freak out over what our team is doing in April though. We appreciate the concern. lol.
Biggest letdown? What crack are you smokin?
Yeah, I’m pissed at an 11-6 record after the first seventeen with the “problems” they’re having.
You can be pissed if you want.
Dodger fans haven’t cared about the regular season for a while now. At this point, just taking the playoffs for granted….
(Should someone tell him that the Dodgers are leading the season series against the Cubs 3-2).
Suck it, Dodgers!
1 2 3 might be easy, but it looks like that’s the limit on what numbers you understand
Least I can make it past 1. You not so much apparently.
Two weeks into the season? Still with an 11-6 record. What?
And I was in discussions, about a triple whopper with cheese, and xtra onions
Don’t forget the animal style fries!
Un-named? Pretty sure I saw De Paula mentioned earlier in that Tweet
It might still happen, maybe with Robert having better numbers and possibly a better return for the White Sox.
Trade might still happen, but I highly doubt De Paula will be in it.
Maybe if it’s Nick and not Josue.
His trade value has dropped so much that they’re better off hoping he builds it up again before the deadline. Smart play by the Dodgers to try and pry him loose.
I would pivot to Cedric Mullins if the O’s keep loosing or at the trade deadline
The Dodgers can’t hit, throw strikes and have trouble making routine plays.
Other than those minor details, they’re world beaters.
They hoisted the trophy last season and probably will again this year.
Its early in the yr and they will pick up some arms. Still 11-6.
Luis Robert Jr. and Oneil Cruz are the darlings of fans that analyze players by their statcast numbers, highlight reels, and projections from organizations that look at statcast numbers and highlight reels.
Baseball IQ and the desire to do some things every game they play in to help their team to try to win the game – even if the stats don’t reflect it – is what makes valuable players. There have always been and will always be players like the 2 aforementioned (and MLB has far, far more) that play for their stats and salaries when they feel up to it that day.
“Marketing Their Brand” is what’s important.
I haven’t watched as many White Sox games, but for Cruz he definitely gets disappointed when he’s not playing well. He carries some things over at bat to at bat or fielding to offense. I certainly wouldn’t say there is any indication his play is dictated on marketing his brand. He’s learning a new position on a bad team. I give him a lot of leeway, especially when you have a manager who would’ve been fired by now if he was anywhere else.
I’d be curious to hear who else you consider to be someone who “plays for their stats.”
It’s a quibble I know, but why do journalists keep writing that the White Sox had “the worst season in major-league history” last year? They didn’t. Their 41-121 record was a better percentage than the Mets’ 40-120 in 1962.
They were 39-121 and then they played the hungover Tigers. That makes them the worst in my book.
Lost the most games is a reasonable proxy for worst ever.
Alan: They were the worst since 1900. I say why not go for the 1899 Cleveland Spiders all-time record? They have the lack of talent to do it.
With James outman as the center piece hahahahah
Leo Getz little bro isn’t that dumb is he?
Would hope not….
Thank you for getting that reference without having to say you that you got the reference.
Leo Getz’s little brother is a yout.
Classic Vinny
Of the many ideas expressed in this article, this was not one of them. Outman plus a top prospect was, though. Not that Robert has shown any sign of a bounce back so far this season. At this point, either team would be just as well off starting Outman.
So are they just deferring this trade until they find the money to pay him or did he passed on the trade because he doesn’t want his money deferred! I guess a player to be named later is a deferred trade piece!
I’m just referring to deferrals!
Just by using the words “Dodgers” and “deferrals” in the same sentence does not automatically count as a deferral joke. The joke still needs to be funny.
He deferred the joke part to another time.
You do realize that the Dodgers TV deal more than covers their entire payroll, right? Let’s not even consider the endorsements that come with Shohei, Yamamoto and Sasaki, and that they sell more tickets both home and away, than any other club. The players defer money in their contracts, not the Dodgers. The Dodgers print money faster than the federal reserve, and they’re paying more in Collective Bargaining Taxes than 1/3 of MLB teams pay on their entire payroll. “Until they find the money”.. LMFAO When will the other 29 teams find some money?
Not to disagree entirely, but the media contract may cover their entire player payroll, but only more or less. The average annual value of the contract over 25 years is $325M, starting lower and ending higher. How much they are getting now, we really don’t know. The deferrals are meaningless in this calculation, since the team is required to set aside their present value annually. Guggenheim’s business planning could be wrecked by a major collapse of the financial markets. This is more of a risk now than it’s been in many years, but I doubt they are building their business plan around it.
Mets should really step up and try to get Robert. Wherever he ends up (and he’s definitely getting deal somewhere at some point in the next few months) I’ll bet he improves his game a lot. He’s a flashy, super-athletic but injury-prone guy who seems to have a lack of focus. Dudes that like often turn it on when they get thrown into a pennant race with a good team.
Bottom line: I have no idea how Robert will do in the long term but I predict he’ll be a stud in the second half of 2025 post-trade.
At this point we need all the help that we can get.
Might as well bring back Manny Ramirez.
Dodger haters go ahead and gloat about one bad week.
It is April 13. Get a grip.
Suck it, Dodgers!
Michael Busch! Woo!
Yeah but 16-0 though. Their run differential is now that of a .500 team.
@aptly named Ignorant
How farsighted of you. What a cogent analysis. Worst Dodger performance since 1965. Y’know when Dodgers won the world championship. 16-0, 1-0, 8-7. It’s still only one loss.
Haha with that prickly response I must have hit a nerve. It wasn’t my intention to agitate you though. I actually don’t mind the Dodgers too much. But they invite themselves open to some of this stuff and their fans do as well by having no sense of humor whatsoever.
Enjoy yourself.
You started a fight with the internet. Congratulations!
The Yankees have not looked great lately either. Probably Yankee fans.
The Dodgers were playing 4D chess to lock in Mookie Betts at shortstop by sliding Tommy Edman all over the infield. LA is scheming a lineup where every guy can swap spots, maybe piling on five extra wins just by outsmarting everyone defensively. In a division where the Padres are coming hard, this sneaky plan could’ve crushed them by summer.
I keep reading that the Reds should try to get this guy, but the last thing they need is another guy who can’t get on, or get it together on, the field. Just cause he’s an outfielder doesn’t mean he solves the long standing problem.
Overrated player. Losing culture brings losing habits. Bad body language, no hustle.
The best thing for Robert is to go to the Dodgers. Getting away from a hopelessly lost organization and into the capable hands of LA’s hitting coaches should have him back to his 2023 self. After all, the Dodger’s hitting coaches turned around JD Martinez.
I agree. I’m a Sox fan. This guy needs to be in clubhouse with player who won’t tolerate less than 100% effort. And he needs warm weather. too. He needs to see what real leadership looks like
Smurfs are going to be ok they have too much talent.
Comparing Robert, a top talent plagued by injuries, to Outman, who couldn’t
Make contact in AAA last year, let alone the majors, despite good health, is ridiculous. Bobby Dalbec is a better comp for Outman. Robert’s only issue is his durability. His talent is elite.
Instead how about the Mets, Marte and Siri for Outman
Hey, Siri, is that going to happen?
Not likely.
Robert Jr. steps on a crack in the sidewalk and he goes on the IL for a month.
No-thank-you
Hard pass on Robert. His name keeps popping up but not the type of player the Dodgers need. I get it that he can play CF well and the Dodgers may need one in the future if Pages doesn’t work out but no guarantees that this guy is going to turn it around at the plate. And even if he does he makes so little contact and doesn’t get on base enough. Dodgers need more of an on-base hitter to balance out the power bats who don’t get on base enough, especially with Muncy showing signs of quality ABs decline. Still early. No time to panic by making a bad acquisition.
Muncy is concerning, but the only thing that’s certain is that slumps look worse when it’s at the start of a season, since every hitter is beginning with an .000 average.
I get it. But you get him on team with players who take pride in their performance he will respond. He’s never had that here. And he needs warm weather. Low risk high reward.
I’ve seen this movie before and usually it doesn’t end well. Don’t need guys who need to be surrounded by certain others to get motivated. Definitely able to get him cheaper than before but still a risk as no signs of him turning it around at the plate. Sure, it’s a potential steal. At this point all we have is a “tools” guy with a hope strategy. I’d call him a potential high reward but a low chance of that high reward.
Whoever gets Robert is likely going to get a steal, or at least the best part of that trade.
Its clear the White Sox org is just a mess, and there is no confidence in that locker room, let alone the org, as the players have eyes, they can see what Reinsdorf did to Renteria, and Im sure that has passed down to players not aware. How can you want to play hard for an org when the idiot owner will be as backstabby as Reinsdorf? I mean the days of Steinbrenner are long over Jerry.. Sell your team and let them gain their confidence back.
Reinsdorf isn’t picking up the 2026 $20M option. Robert has been consistently brutal at the plate, his selling point is hope based on defense, speed and “tools” and “if he can stay healthy” … blah blah. If the White Sox are lucky they will give him away for a bag of balls at the deadline or get nothing for him at seasons end. Everbody knows Robert won’t make it 162 w/o a IL stint. Can he stay healthy until the deadline? Getz is betting on it. Another masterclass by the White Sox FO. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
There shouldn’t be a comma between “and” and “eventually.” Using one after “eventually” isn’t necessarily correct either.