The White Sox dealing center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets on Tuesday was no surprise.

Robert had been the center of trade speculation for years as his performance dipped. Even as the team picked up his $20 million option this offseason, it was becoming clear that it was time for Robert and the Sox to part ways.

“Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the consistency that he had hoped or we had hoped,” general manager Chris Getz said Wednesday on Zoom. “If you can rewind the clock and look at his ’23 and prior seasons, they were really impactful for this organization, and he deserves a lot of credit for doing that.

‘‘The last couple of years, it just hasn’t been there. We felt like it was time to make this move, turn the page and continue this build forward.”

The timing is curious, however, because Getz has talked all offseason about wanting the 2026 Sox to be a better team. But trading Robert, even in a diminished state, for utility player Luisangel Acuna, 23, and right-hander Truman Pauley, 22, makes the Sox worse.

The Mets absorbed the $20 million owed to Robert, so the Sox have the money to upgrade their roster. Even with only Andrew Benintendi and a lot of question marks, Getz doesn’t believe that money necessarily has to go into addressing the outfield situation.

“It’s [about] increasing talent on the team to help us win ballgames,” Getz said. “That could come in starting pitching, relievers, balancing right-handed vs. left-handed.

‘‘So we are very open-minded and excited in getting to work in being creative and bringing in that talent.”

Getz said the organization is excited about being able to bring in Acuna with five-plus years of team control, though he’s out of minor-league options.

“We have opportunity here, and we can provide that runway to show off his talent and his ability and his ceiling, which the industry has been very high on for a long time,” Getz said. “We’ve been tracking him for a long time.”

Acuna likely will be the Sox’ main option in center field, barring a late signing or an accelerated developmental timeline for prospect Braden Montgomery. Pauley is a bet on someone with elite velocity who hasn’t been able to harness it in the zone.

The return for Robert was much like his tenure with the Sox: underwhelming. But that was to be expected considering the hefty contract and injury risk attached to him. The Mets taking on the entirety of Robert’s contract — which was a major part of the deal — likely affected the caliber of prospect available to the Sox.

Getz said that because of the trade, the Sox have “some financial flexibility now to continue to bring in talent.” This trade only makes sense for the Sox if they plan to use that payroll flexibility on the current team.

The outfield already was thin with Robert; it looks especially bleak without him. Getz said that defense should be strong with Everson Pereira and Acuna. He wants to add a bat to flesh out the outfield.

“We plan on being very active,” Getz said. “We’ve already been talking to agents and clubs and anticipate a roster that’s going to continue to evolve.”