Fans are getting different ideas about Luis Robert Jr.’s NY Mets trade deadline fate

Luis Robert Jr. is doing what he was supposed to do all year long for the New York Mets. The problem is “all year long” hasn’t applied to the oft-injured yet incredibly gifted outfielder.

At his worst, Robert is a low average hitter with power, speed, and defense. At his best, you’d need a time machine. Robert was 1 for 10 against the Milwaukee Brewers with 5 strikeouts and that one mammoth home run. In his first at-bat on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he went yard again.

A tough cookie to crumble ahead of the trade deadline, because there are so many questions about what the Mets could even get back, fans are starting to wonder if maybe he has a different fate in New York.

Could the Mets actually keep Luis Robert Jr. for 2027?

The Mets can’t possibly avoid trading Robert in an attempt to trade him in the offseason. If they keep him, they need to actually keep him. The $20 million player option on him for 2027 is a temptation for enough fans that it’s worth a conversation.

It’s certainly a bias toward the recent and overlooking the small moments Robert has had even recently. He’s teasing us the same way he did the Mets in the offseason. Keeping him wouldn’t be less of a question if A.J. Ewing hadn’t turned into the beast he currently is.

How do the Mets possibly make that work? It’s not so complicated. Robert in center field with some regular rest days, some Ewing at second base, and the DH spot gets utilized for Juan Soto a little more often. Jorge Polanco, you better grab a glove and get ready to learn first base or take a spot on the bench.

It’s all rosy except when Robert inevitably gets hurt again. The problem with investing another year or dollar into Robert is it limits who else the Mets could have. Even without a salary cap to limit the Mets, are they going to have a $20 million part-time player on a roster that already has Polanco and Marcus Semien earning big dollars?

The rise of all of these youngsters making league minimum makes it more viable to keep payroll reasonable. Robert, Ewing, and Carson Benge will combine to make less than $22 million next year. If they average $7 million production, it’s hard to argue against the idea of keeping Robert.

The Mets will have the Tyrone Taylor role opened with a trade or free agency ending his time. Robert has a far greater ceiling. In case of an injury to someone else, we’d have to believe Robert would make us miss someone more than Taylor ever could.

An expensive question mark that might bring more to the Mets than anything they get back for him at the trade deadline, it’s a notion so crazy it might just make sense.

Hitless in his other two plate appearances on Friday, Robert is 2 for 13 with a pair of bombs since his IL return.

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