Cody Snavely
LOS ANGELES— While the Los Angeles Dodgers look to take care of the Cicago Cubs tonight on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, Major League Baseball insider Bob Nightengale has connected Los Angeles to another Chicago team: the White Sox
While the Major League Baseball trade deadline is more than five months away, we have our first massive trade rumor surrounding the Dodgers as Nightengale has reported that the White Sox and Dodgers have tabled discussion on a possible Luis Robert Jr. trade.
The Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers have tabled trade discussions that would send center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the Dodgers for Triple-A outfielder James Outman and a front-line prospect.
It is not the first time both sides have been connected through trade, as Robert Jr. was a major target by plenty of Major League teams at the last deadline and this past offseason.
While the team inquired about Robert Jr. last deadline, the Dodgers opted for right-handed relief pitcher Michael Kopech and Tommy Edman instead in a three-team trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
It has not been the best start for Luis Robert Jr. this season, hitting .178/.269/.267 and a .536 OPS and 58 OPS+ in forty-five plate appearances.
Since Robert’s breakout season in 2021, when the righty hit .264/.315/.542 with a .857 OPS and finished 12th in American League Most Valuable Player Award voting, he has hit .243 with a 106 wRC+ since.
However, what makes Robert so enticing to the team is his contract with 2.5 years of control, including two $20 million club options for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
However, the White Sox would be foolish to trade Robert Jr. while his value is at an all-time low. They would wait for the deadline, hoping that he would raise his numbers and increase the trade value.
The interesting aspect of the trade discussion is the involvement of outfielder James Outman, who is slowly losing his spot on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.
Outamn, 27, finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting during the 2023 Major League season and has been a shell of himself, hitting .147 since the start of the 2024 season.
Outman was in consideration for the Dodgers center field job in spring training this season, but, after slashing .207/.333/.483, was optioned to Triple-A OKC in favor of Andy Pages.
So far, in sixty-three minor league at-bats, Outman is hitting .159/.254/.349 with a .603 OPS and was moved off of center for Korean utilityman Hyeseong Kim.
The other tidbit from this rumor is that the Dodgers would also have to attach a front-line minor league prospect to headline the deal, which could be any number of players in the Dodgers farm system, which ranked in the top five according to MLB Pipeline.
A few names to note could be top prospect catcher Dalton Rushing, who the White Sox had interest in last season in exchange for Garrett Crochet
or any of the top pitching prospects within the system, such as Justin Wrobleski and Nick Frasso, or the two young outfielder prospects, Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
