If Santander doesn't accept the Blue Jays latest offer, could a trade with the White Sox be the answer?
A Toronto Blue Jays trade with the Chicago White Sox may be the answer in a series of free agent swing and misses
After whiffing on Juan Soto and Teoscar Hernandez, the Blue Jays now have their sights set on free-agent outfielder Anthony Santander with a 4-year $82 Million offer on the table..
What happens if Toronto misses out on Santander as well?
If Santander doesn't accept the Blue Jays latest offer, should Ross Atkins try and swing a trade for Luis Robert Jr?
The Chicago White Sox have a few assets left on their roster that they could look to trade, and the Blue Jays may be wise to try trade for star outfielder Luis Robert Jr.
Since trading away their most valuable asset in Garrett Crochet earlier this offseason to the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox have been waiting to find a suitor for their second best asset in Luis Robert Jr.
He has garnered trade interest from teams like the Cincinnati Reds, but nothing has come of those reports and Robert Jr. market remains cold.
Luis Robert Jr. has shown flashes of being a potential superstar in Major League Baseball with 2023 being his best season to date in which Robert Jr. was named an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger award, and finished 12th in the Most Valuable Player voting.
Part of Robert's trade value is tied to his contract, which is a bargain if the outfielder is as healthy and productive as he was in his 2023 season.
Robert is set to earn $15MM in 2025, and the White Sox have a pair of $20MM club options (with $2MM buyouts) for both the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
The 27-year-old endured the worst season of his career in 2024 as he hit just .224/.278/.379 (84 wRC+) while striking out at a 33.2% clip, but hit a much more palatable .287/.331/.511 (129 wRC+) over the prior three seasons and is just one season removed from a 4.9 fWAR 2023 campaign.
Robert pairs that volatile but potentially impactful bat with impressive speed (he stole 23 bases in just 100 games this year) and quality defense in center field.
He also comes with plenty of injury risk, as 2024 was just the second time in his career he played in even 100 games due to a number of trips to the injured list over the years.
It would cost the Blue Jays quite a bit of prospect capital and perhaps some cash to acquire the star outfielder, but he smashed 38 home runs and 36 doubles in 2023, so it may be worth it.
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SOURCES: MLBTR, Baseball Reference, Newsweek
