White Sox $50 Million Streaky Star Suggested As Royals Blockbuster Trade Target
The Kansas City Royals will go as far in 2025 as their role players can take them.
In 2024, the Royals found out how far they could get based on otherworldly contributions from a few stars. Bobby Witt Jr., Cole Ragans, and Seth Lugo carried Kansas City to the playoffs, but they couldn't spark a deep postseason run.
Now, the Royals are preparing to run back mostly the same lineup, though the addition of Jonathan India as the leadoff hitter shouldn't be discounted. It's a lineup with a lot of question marks, particularly in the outfield, where two of the three projected starters finished with negative WAR last season.
Could the Royals shake up their outfield by trading for a rival's former All-Star--specifically, Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox?
On Wednesday, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller suggested Robert as a possible trade target for the Royals as part of a larger MLB season preview article.
"(The Royals are) still likely to have four players in their starting lineup on Opening Day who had a sub-.690 OPS last season. Vinnie Pasquantino is already dealing with a hamstring injury, and it'd be five problematic bats in the order if he's out," Miller wrote.
"If the White Sox are fine with trading him within the division, this could be where Luis Robert Jr. ends up sooner rather than later if this outfield is as weak as it is projected to be."
Robert, 27, is entering the final year of a $50 million contract extension that's been full of ups and downs. He was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger in 2023, racking up a career-best 38 home runs, then promptly lost 200 points on his OPS while struggling with injuries in 2024.
The Royals wouldn't necessarily be trading for just one year of Robert, however. He has $20 million club options for both 2026 and 2027 that would pose difficult decisions for his team to pick up based on his recent performance.
Though trades with division rivals are always slightly less palatable for the teams trading away the star player, the White Sox are so far from contending for the playoffs that moving Robert to Kansas City, if they make the best offer, shouldn't be a holdup.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org