Getty Phillies potential trade target Luis Robert
No one is panicking, of course, about the current state of the Phillies. They hold a comfortable 8.0-game lead over the Braves in the National League East, and with a winning percentage sitting at .663, they are not just the best team in the N.L., but in all of baseball. They’ve scored 405 runs, which is fourth in MLB, while their batting average (.259) and OPS (.755) are third in the league.
On the mound, they lead baseball in ERA (3.07) and are third in WHIP (1.13). The rotation is deep and the bullpen is solid.
OK, catcher and heart-and-soul team leader JT Realmuto is out after having had knee surgery, but even that is relatively positive news: He will be back, most likely, in July.
But the Phillies have gone just 7-8 in their last 15 games. And if there is an area that needs shoring up as we approach the MLB trade deadline at the end of next month, it has certainly made itself clear in the early part of this season: centerfield, where Johan Rojas (.235/.271/.295 slash line) has not worked out as hoped and his replacement, Cristian Pache (.195/.308/.260) has been even worse.
The Phillies centerfielders have a combined OPS of .596 this season, fifth-worst in the NBA.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan has just the answer for the championship-or-bust Phillies: White Sox centerfielder Luis Robert.
Luis Robert Has Had Trouble in 2024
Playing for the lowly White Sox this season, Robert has played down to his surroundings, having a disappointing year after breaking out with an All-Star campaign in 2023, when he hit .264 with 38 home runs and 20 stolen bases. He suffered a hip injury a little more than a week into the season, which kept him out for two months, and since returning, he has not gotten himself untracked.
Robert is hitting .198 this season, with just 11 homers and 17 RBIs in 26 games.
Still, he is a young slugger who is under team control for three more seasons,. having signed a six-year, $50 million contract in 2020. The Phillies could easily forgive him his injury-induced slump, especially as they seek to plug up the one glaring hole in the lineup.
“Everything here lines up,” Passan wrote. “The Phillies are a juggernaut. … They’ve made deep playoff runs the past two seasons without winning a ring. And they have one clear vulnerability: center field. … Robert, the 26-year-old center fielder for the Chicago White Sox, is under contract through 2027, giving the Phillies four potential postseason runs. His injury proneness is understandably worrisome, but his ceiling is tantalizing enough to see past the concerns.”
Phillies Could Deal Top IF Prospect Aidan Miller
What might it take to land Robert? Well, it will require a haul of prospects, including at least one who is among the best in the minors. Passan suggests the While Sox will want Aidan Miller, the talented 20-year-old shortstop (probably headed to third base) the Phillies picked in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft. He is still playing in High A ball, but is ranked No. 46 among all prospects in the game by MLB.com.
Baseball America has Miller ranked No. 21 overall after a solid start to his career, and wrote of him in their updated rankings, “When we polled scouts and front office officials for their standout prospect of the first two months of the season, Miller was the most common name.”
Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski has never been one to hold back on prospects when he has a contender that heeds improving. It might cost Miller, but adding Richard—even amid a slump—will likely prove worth it.
“It will take a steep haul to land Robert because so few impact bats are on the market. Chicago could reasonably ask Philadelphia for Aidan Miller, who dropped to the 27th overall pick in last year’s MLB draft and could end this season as a top 25 prospect. … Plenty of clubs want Robert. But if White Sox general manager Chris Getz does choose to move him — Chicago could always wait until the winter — no team makes sense like Philadelphia,” Passan wrote.