Cubs' crosstown rival fleeces Mets while ending longtime trade nightmare

The Chicago White Sox have really had a rough go of things in recent years. After emerging as a playoff team in 2020 and 2021, the Chicago Cubs' crosstown rival submitted a .500 record in 2022 before falling into historic obscurity over the past three seasons.

The Pale Hose did get some good returns in their Garrett Crochet trade, and they stole ace Shane Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft. In conjunction with their massive addition of Munetaka Murakami in free agency, there are clearly some building blocks in place.

That's now especially true after they finally offloaded Luis Robert Jr. after years of speculation regarding the star center fielder, dumping his entire $20 million salary onto the New York Mets for former top prospect Luisangel Acuña and pitcher Truman Pauley. Though that's hardly the blockbuster package White Sox fans may have been hoping for in years past, it is a solid return for a player who had long ago played his way out of the South Side of Chicago.

White Sox offload Luis Robert Jr. but remain far behind Cubs in Crosstown Classic

According to at least one trade value model, the White Sox clearly walked away as winners of this trade, by virtue of shedding so much salary and adding a post-hype sleeper in Acuña.

There are reasons to be concerned about Acuña after his poor 2025 season, but he's about as high-upside of a player as the Sox could have expected in return for an oft-injured and expensive Robert. Plus, this trade kept the 2023 All-Star out of the hands of a few NL Central rivals who were known to be snooping around his market.

The bigger immediate impact on the Cubs is that the Mets — a fellow NL contender after signing Bo Bichette — have now added significantly more upside to their lineup. It's been some time since Robert was at his best, but between 2021 and 2023, the center fielder posted a 129 wRC+ with 63 home runs and 37 stolen bases.

He becomes their Brandon Nimmo replacement after missing out on Kyle Tucker in free agency, though the Mets still have a startling lack of starting pitching depth. If Robert returns to his All-Star form, they could field one of the most dangerous lineups in the league featuring Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, Bichette, and Robert, but that's an old core of players to bet their future on. Their roster, at least on paper, doesn't quite match up to the much-deeper Cubs.

In regard to the Crosstown Classic, this trade doesn't really move the needle. The White Sox made the right move by finally swallowing their medicine and letting Robert go, but the gap remains huge between them and the Cubs; the latter won 92 games in 2025, while the former won 101... in 2024 and 2025 combined.

The Pale Hose's future may be bright, but the Windy City's present is dominated by the North Siders.