A Braves-White Sox trade if Luis Robert Jr.'s price tag comes down

Okay, let's face reality. The Chicago White Sox will never receive the value they believe they deserve in a deal for Luis Robert. Not today, not tomorrow and not in the offseason. As the days go by, Robert is under less and less team control and his value diminishes. In fact, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports that general managers are 'skeptical" that any team will meet the White Sox's asking price for Robert.

It's about time that the White Sox own up to this idea and find a deal for Robert at fair market value, rather than the massive return they expect to get.

If Chicago is willing to do this, the Atlanta Braves will be one of the first teams to make another real effort at him. Obviously, the market to trade for Robert is there, but nobody is willing to deal a "Juan Soto" sized return of prospects, for good reason.

A Braves-White Sox trade if Chicago comes down off their high horse

Robert is good and valuable, don't get me wrong. But he's not going to be worth four or five top ten prospects in any system in baseball. He's just too injury prone. His batting average and strikeout percentage are also a bit alarming, but the real risk is the injuries.

The market for him would heat up tremendously if the White Sox asked a bit less in return. If they did this, here is how the Braves could get a deal done.

Even if the White Sox are to come down a bit, the value for Robert is still high. Robert has been mocked in deals that are sending three or four top ten prospects to the White Sox and it's just not realistic.

This deal would send the Braves 6th, 8th, 14th and 22nd ranked prospects, per MLB Pipeline, to the White Sox for their young, controllable outfielder. And it would make sense for both sides.

The White Sox aren't going to get the package they think they deserve. The sooner they accept this, the sooner they can deal Robert to a team that's willing to part ways with prospects as talented as what Atlanta is offering here.

Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Darius Vines are two MLB-ready players. Both would crack the White Sox active roster upon being dealt there. Alvarez could slot in as their shortstop of the future as he's slashing .348/.437/.573 in 21 games at Triple-A this year. Vines flashed serious potential in 2023, pitching to a sub-4.00 ERA in 20.1 big league innings.

Cade Kuehler and Isaiah Drake are more up the White Sox alley in terms of the kinds of prospects they're looking for. These are two developable pieces that are a few years away from cracking the big leagues. Kuehler is an incredibly talented pitcher who has dominated across 14 professional starts. Drake, an athlete over all else, has struggled but he has the physical gifts to be good if the development is there.

The Braves would see a serious improvement in their outfield this season as well as for the next two years while Robert is under team control. Adding him to their super talented lineup would take pressure off his back and allow him to flourish in his own game. The Braves would be back to the powerhouse lineup that they should have been when the season started.