Right Decision? Cincinnati Reds No Longer Pursuing All-Star Outfielder Luis Robert Jr.

The Reds are reportedly no longer pursuing White Sox center fielder.

Cincinnati Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall walks between fields at the Cincinnati Reds Player Development Complex in Goodyear, Ariz., on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. Mandatory Credit: Sam Greene/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images / Cincinnati Enquirer-Imagn Images

Not every idea is a home run. In fact, for most executives like Nick Krall, they’re just hoping they have enough ideas that are singles. Sometimes it’s the ideas that are passed up on that can be just as good as getting another idea right.

Krall is making that call with the Cincinnati Reds officially tabling negotiations with the Chicago White Sox for stud center fielder Luis Robert Jr. That move could very well have transformed this year’s roster, but reports make it sound as if it would have been too high a gamble.

The White Sox were asking for shortstop prospect Edwin Arroyo and pitchers Chase Burns and Rhett Lowder according to Gordon Whittenmeyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Whether that was all together, or whatever combination, was not specifically stated. I doubt it was as simple as picking one of those players and finalizing the trade.

The Reds are in dire need of current and future outfield upgrades and Robert would have been an interesting attempt to fix that problem. He comes with plenty of his own issues though. Any trade involving multiple of those prospects mentioned (And I don’t think they were the only ones) would have been an over pay.

Robert is coming off a season where he hit .224 in 393 at-bats. He also slugged just .379 with 14 home runs. He displays untold amounts of athleticism and potential, but has only ever played more than 100 games once. That came in 2023 when he hit 38 home runs and won a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove award.

His other four season are quite concerning for that sort of trade demand. Robert has averaged just over 80 games played in those four years with an average WAR per season of 2.2. That is not worth trading two top prospects for, let alone three.

Besides, all three of the players mentioned by Whittenmeyer may be contributors to the Reds major league success in 2025, especially Burns and Lowder. So these aren’t the typical lower-minors prospects that make it hard to defend the Reds clutching their pearls with.

More than likely, Robert plays this year with the White Sox as other teams follow the Reds and decide they need to see the veteran put together one more year of healthy production. His resume needs it because the White Sox are trying to sell high on a potentially injury-prone player.

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