Report: Mets trade Luisangel Acuña & Truman Pauley for OF Luis Robert Jr per Jeff Passan
January 21, 2026
Report: Mets trade Luisangel Acuña & Truman Pauley for OF Luis Robert Jr per Jeff Passan
38 comments
Holy fleece job. Zero risk, tons of upside.
The Mets stole Luis Robert. Acuna was excess and I never heard of this Pauley guy. Brett Baty is sighing with relief until they trade for a pitcher.
i’m loving the comments on MLBTR saying the mets overpaid because acuña has hit home runs in the venezuelan winter league. let’s be serious people
felt like this was inevitable. idk about the pitching prospect but acuna didnt really have a place on the team and this helps solve the “too many infielders” problem
Robert makes $20M this year with a $2M buyout for next year ($20M team option).
It looks like there’s no money being exchanged in the deal, so eating this salary was probably the winning offer.
The Mets essentially swapped a strong defensive infielder that can’t but for a strong defensive outfielder that might be able to hit.
This is a good trade for both players. Talent evaluators seem to think that Robert needed a change of scenery to give him a spark. And Acuña needs plate appearances to see if he can handle MLB pitching, which a team like the White Sox can offer him.
Best of luck to both players.
This could be robbery.
You would think they thought Bellinger wasn’t happening, but I guess you never know.
Nice. Acuña’s value definitely went up after his 4 HR game went viral.
luis robert has speed and defense to make up for whatever acuna provided but at a more premium position (especially for how our current roster is constructed). and at his worst (which is what we have seen the past couple years), robert is already a better hitter than acuna. so this trade is a pure upgrade to raise both the floor and the ceiling of the roster.
I will miss watching that speed on the base path but I do appreciate how much they are shaking things up and reorganizing the roster
Welcome back, John Mayberry Jr.
Wow! This is huge!!
Not a bad move all things considered. With all the recent movement around the IF Acuña wasn’t really going to have a place as it was. OF needs help and we’re getting help.
White flag on Bellinger.
.223 More strikeouts than hits. enough said
I didn’t particularly want Robert, but at that price, it’s definitely worth it.
I don’t think stats can provide insight into Lou bobs mental state playing in Chicago. I think a fresh start in ny is exactly what he needs to be motivated again
White Sox fan here. What’s the read on these guys? Luis Robert is the 5 tool guy who very much looks the part. Plays his ass off in center. But lacks a bit a toughness and determination. And has been completely baffling at the plate in recent years. A change of pace might do him good. His value kind of plummeted and we’re forced into this salary dump style deal
I was pretty “meh” on Robert Jr., but this is a very clear “buy low” price for him. This is effectively a salary dump price, and Cohen has money. He’s basically been Tyrone Taylor in the last two years but has flukey ability to outperform that profile, and having two guys with that makeup isn’t a bad thing. Benge can cover CF, but he profiles better as a plus defender on the corners so adding a legit CF makes sense. Hopefully Stearns has something cooking to add some pitching though.
Holy overpay Batman… Good defense, bad offense, and a hefty contract. Why did they get anything of value in return? Acuna was an excellent player off the bench. Even if all he did was offer multi-positional defense and pinch running.
I would have rather they tried to get Harrison Bader back. You probably pay less and keep your prospects to put into another deal.
I will miss Acuna. He’s still developing & I believe he will figure out hitting
This is really a A trade by Stearns. Mets desperately needed another legit OF especially CF so Robert Jr automatically feels that need immediately. Hoping a change of scenery gets him producing productive play. Acquiring him just having 2 years left is a true shrewd move with the impending labor talks. Really wished Acuna could develop here but there was just no more room for him hope he plays well in Chicago
Not Acuña ❤️🩹
This is a brutal offseason for some faves. He’s got a bit to go on the development curve and could be quite the player if he figures it out.
The Max Scherzer signing reads it’s final dividend.
I didn’t want Robert this off-season. I didn’t want him at the last deadline.
But that’s when I thought the white Sox wanted a haul for him. We basically gave up a utility infielder and a lotto ticket for him. Can’t be mad about that.
Feeling a bit blah. We have a bunch of 1 yr bandaids, tough to get excited about that when most will be gone after next year
Roster spots are too valuable for what Acuna’s strengths are. We have plenty of bodies to fill the infield, we’re light on outfielders who have ML stats. We all liked Acuna but this seems like a trade that shouldn’t rankle the fanbase.
Good luck to Luis-Angel and welcome aboard Luis.
Since no one could pick Pauley out of a police lineup let’s hope he doesn’t turn into a #1. (Nothing personal, Truman)
taylor siri mullins roberts….we arent getting any better since bader left.
So, lineup looks something like:
Lindor
Soto
Bichette
Polanco
Robert
Baty
Alvarez
Semien
Benge
That’ll play, I think. If he (and everybody else) can stay on the field.
i’ll never understand this team’s fetish for luis robert. that said, i am absolutely thrilled that luisangel automatic out acuna is finally off of the team. of course this new guy hits .220 as well, so basically what i’m saying is woohoo?
Mets needed money to fill starting rotation. Going after Bellinger wouldn’t accomplish that. This trade allows them to focus on pitching, the bane of their existence last year.
You could think Robert is trash now but he put up a 140 OPS+ against lefties last year with great OF defense and Acuña needs to play everyday of his going to reach his potential.
Solid trade for both sides.
Why not? The guy had A 5.4 WAR year with 38 dongs a cpl years ago and is a serviceable CF. We can get off his contract after this year if he stinks again. Angel is a bench infielder/pinch runner. Never heard of the other guy.
Roll of the dice. They’ll shell out like $36M for Robert after the tax penalties (assuming they buy him out next year) to get a projected <2 WAR next year. He was really good in that one full season he played, though. They also give up a player who was once a highly regarded prospect (Steamer put Acuna at 1.2 WAR prorated to 450 PAs compared with 1.7 WAR in ~490 PAs for Robert).
Feels like big moves always happen when I stop checking for updates lol. I don’t really like Robert as a player. But there were no good options available for CF. That’s all I can say really. I definitely don’t think there’s zero risk to this deal. But they weren’t going to play Acuña anyway.
Thanks for breaking that 4 homer record Luisangel, very cool
38 comments
Holy fleece job. Zero risk, tons of upside.
The Mets stole Luis Robert. Acuna was excess and I never heard of this Pauley guy. Brett Baty is sighing with relief until they trade for a pitcher.
i’m loving the comments on MLBTR saying the mets overpaid because acuña has hit home runs in the venezuelan winter league. let’s be serious people
felt like this was inevitable. idk about the pitching prospect but acuna didnt really have a place on the team and this helps solve the “too many infielders” problem
Robert makes $20M this year with a $2M buyout for next year ($20M team option).
It looks like there’s no money being exchanged in the deal, so eating this salary was probably the winning offer.
The Mets essentially swapped a strong defensive infielder that can’t but for a strong defensive outfielder that might be able to hit.
This is a good trade for both players. Talent evaluators seem to think that Robert needed a change of scenery to give him a spark. And Acuña needs plate appearances to see if he can handle MLB pitching, which a team like the White Sox can offer him.
Best of luck to both players.
This could be robbery.
You would think they thought Bellinger wasn’t happening, but I guess you never know.
Nice. Acuña’s value definitely went up after his 4 HR game went viral.
luis robert has speed and defense to make up for whatever acuna provided but at a more premium position (especially for how our current roster is constructed). and at his worst (which is what we have seen the past couple years), robert is already a better hitter than acuna. so this trade is a pure upgrade to raise both the floor and the ceiling of the roster.
I will miss watching that speed on the base path but I do appreciate how much they are shaking things up and reorganizing the roster
Welcome back, John Mayberry Jr.
Wow! This is huge!!
Not a bad move all things considered. With all the recent movement around the IF Acuña wasn’t really going to have a place as it was. OF needs help and we’re getting help.
White flag on Bellinger.
.223 More strikeouts than hits. enough said
I didn’t particularly want Robert, but at that price, it’s definitely worth it.
I don’t think stats can provide insight into Lou bobs mental state playing in Chicago. I think a fresh start in ny is exactly what he needs to be motivated again
White Sox fan here. What’s the read on these guys? Luis Robert is the 5 tool guy who very much looks the part. Plays his ass off in center. But lacks a bit a toughness and determination. And has been completely baffling at the plate in recent years. A change of pace might do him good. His value kind of plummeted and we’re forced into this salary dump style deal
I was pretty “meh” on Robert Jr., but this is a very clear “buy low” price for him. This is effectively a salary dump price, and Cohen has money. He’s basically been Tyrone Taylor in the last two years but has flukey ability to outperform that profile, and having two guys with that makeup isn’t a bad thing. Benge can cover CF, but he profiles better as a plus defender on the corners so adding a legit CF makes sense. Hopefully Stearns has something cooking to add some pitching though.
Holy overpay Batman… Good defense, bad offense, and a hefty contract. Why did they get anything of value in return? Acuna was an excellent player off the bench. Even if all he did was offer multi-positional defense and pinch running.
I would have rather they tried to get Harrison Bader back. You probably pay less and keep your prospects to put into another deal.
I will miss Acuna. He’s still developing & I believe he will figure out hitting
This is really a A trade by Stearns. Mets desperately needed another legit OF especially CF so Robert Jr automatically feels that need immediately. Hoping a change of scenery gets him producing productive play. Acquiring him just having 2 years left is a true shrewd move with the impending labor talks. Really wished Acuna could develop here but there was just no more room for him hope he plays well in Chicago
Not Acuña ❤️🩹
This is a brutal offseason for some faves. He’s got a bit to go on the development curve and could be quite the player if he figures it out.
The Max Scherzer signing reads it’s final dividend.
I didn’t want Robert this off-season. I didn’t want him at the last deadline.
But that’s when I thought the white Sox wanted a haul for him. We basically gave up a utility infielder and a lotto ticket for him. Can’t be mad about that.
Feeling a bit blah. We have a bunch of 1 yr bandaids, tough to get excited about that when most will be gone after next year
Roster spots are too valuable for what Acuna’s strengths are. We have plenty of bodies to fill the infield, we’re light on outfielders who have ML stats. We all liked Acuna but this seems like a trade that shouldn’t rankle the fanbase.
Good luck to Luis-Angel and welcome aboard Luis.
Since no one could pick Pauley out of a police lineup let’s hope he doesn’t turn into a #1. (Nothing personal, Truman)
taylor siri mullins roberts….we arent getting any better since bader left.
So, lineup looks something like:
Lindor
Soto
Bichette
Polanco
Robert
Baty
Alvarez
Semien
Benge
That’ll play, I think. If he (and everybody else) can stay on the field.
i’ll never understand this team’s fetish for luis robert. that said, i am absolutely thrilled that luisangel automatic out acuna is finally off of the team. of course this new guy hits .220 as well, so basically what i’m saying is woohoo?
Mets needed money to fill starting rotation. Going after Bellinger wouldn’t accomplish that. This trade allows them to focus on pitching, the bane of their existence last year.
You could think Robert is trash now but he put up a 140 OPS+ against lefties last year with great OF defense and Acuña needs to play everyday of his going to reach his potential.
Solid trade for both sides.
Why not? The guy had A 5.4 WAR year with 38 dongs a cpl years ago and is a serviceable CF. We can get off his contract after this year if he stinks again. Angel is a bench infielder/pinch runner. Never heard of the other guy.
Roll of the dice. They’ll shell out like $36M for Robert after the tax penalties (assuming they buy him out next year) to get a projected <2 WAR next year. He was really good in that one full season he played, though. They also give up a player who was once a highly regarded prospect (Steamer put Acuna at 1.2 WAR prorated to 450 PAs compared with 1.7 WAR in ~490 PAs for Robert).
Should’ve done this last season…
[Ryan Clifford rn](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fsimpsons-ralph-chuckles-im-in-danger-someone-was-working-on-v0-r1sbm2vkukje1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D2146%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D947023a61397cd81e3b0b1c199d0f76c1d2fc8d8)
Well, we got him cheap. Good
Feels like big moves always happen when I stop checking for updates lol. I don’t really like Robert as a player. But there were no good options available for CF. That’s all I can say really. I definitely don’t think there’s zero risk to this deal. But they weren’t going to play Acuña anyway.
Thanks for breaking that 4 homer record Luisangel, very cool