The New York Mets just got Luis Robert Jr. back from the injured list. Now they might be shopping him.
Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic reported that multiple teams have expressed “preliminary interest” in the Mets center fielder, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list on Monday after missing nearly three months with disc inflammation in his back.
The Mets are on the fence at the deadline. A few weeks ago, they looked like potential buyers. Now they are stumbling around .500 and the front office is having real conversations about selling.
Robert is the biggest chip they have if they go that route. He is 27 years old, has All-Star talent when healthy, and is on a contract that runs through this year with team options for 2027 and 2028. Any contender that acquires him is getting a potential difference-maker for a playoff run and possibly beyond.
The catch is the health. Robert only came back Monday and is 1 for 10 with a solo home run and five strikeouts since returning. His season slash line is .211/.306/.337 with three homers across 108 plate appearances. That is not the guy who was in All-Star conversations as a young player with the White Sox.
He has two weeks to change the story. If he starts scorching the ball in his next handful of games, the Mets could get a monster return. If he keeps looking rough, they might have to hold him and hope he rediscovers it in the second half.
The list of teams that could match up is thin, but real. The Diamondbacks, Astros, Cardinals, Guardians, Orioles, Padres, Rays and Phillies have all been mentioned as potential landing spots. Center field is one of the hardest positions to upgrade at the deadline, so a healthy Robert would command a premium.
For the Mets, the calculus is complicated. President of baseball operations David Stearns took over with a mandate to build sustainable success, not to chase short-term wins. Selling at the deadline would fit that philosophy. So would holding Robert and betting on a rebound.
The rest of the Mets roster is a mixed bag. Juan Soto is doing what Juan Soto does. Pete Alonso is Pete Alonso. Francisco Lindor has been solid. The rotation has been inconsistent. The bullpen has been shaky. This is not a team that is one big trade away from making a run.
Clay Holmes is another name that has come up in trade talks. If the Mets move both Holmes and Robert, they are officially in sell mode. That would be a shift from where the season started.
Robert has been through the trade rumor cycle before. The White Sox shopped him for years before finally moving him to the Mets last year. He is used to hearing his name in the mix.
The next two weeks are going to define his season. Get hot and cash in with a contender. Keep struggling and the Mets probably have to hold onto him.
The Mets have to decide who they are. Robert’s return might just make that decision for them.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
