Phillies news and rumors 6/10: White Sox seeking massive return for Luis Robert Jr.

Could the Phillies make a trade for Luis Robert? (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

The White Sox are just one of a handful of teams in baseball who are confirmed sellers at this year’s deadline and they may have the best trade candidate of them all in center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

It’s no surprise that Chicago is seeking a lucrative return. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Sunday that the White Sox are actively listening in on offers for Robert and are looking to “command a package greater than what the Padres gave up for Juan Soto at the 2022 deadline.”

Whether they’ll get anything close to what the Nationals received for Soto from the Padres in 2022 remains to be seen. Washington was widely panned for trading away a generational talent with two-and-a-half seasons of team control, but the deal has proven to be exactly what the franchise needed to jumpstart their rebuild. The Padres’ package to the Nats was headlined by shortstop CJ Abrams, left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore and outfielders James Wood and Robert Hassell III. Wood is now the No. 4 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline and Abrams and Gore have looked like foundational players.

Robert is a star who has struggled to stay on the field. He was an All-Star last season, batting .264 with 38 home runs and an .857 OPS. He missed two months of this season with a right hip flexor strain and dealt with various ailments last season, but only missed time due to a mild MCL sprain last September.

Odds are that the White Sox are not going to get as good of a package as the Nationals got for Soto due to the injury history, but it’s June and all sellers set prices really high before coming significantly down on their ask hours before the deadline. A Phillies package for Robert right now likely includes both Andrew Painter and Aidan Miller and possibly a standout younger talent in the majors, such as Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh or Cristopher Sánchez. It’s a ridiculous price and that’s why big trades don’t happen in June.

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