Statistics are kind of like Lego blocks. You can make almost whatever you want out of them.
From one angle, the Phillies are a team at or near the top of baseball in most significant pitching and hitting categories. That has translated into the best record.
From another, it's a team with at least one glaring weakness. The outfield that ranked in the bottom third of baseball with a .234 batting average, a .659 OPS and just 28 home runs coming out of the All-Star break.
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No team is perfect, but it's Dave Dombrowski's job to construct the best roster possible, one not only capable of rampaging through the regular season but also one that's built to win under the very different conditions of postseason play. So let's imagine the Phillies president of baseball operations sitting at a drawing board and beginning to sketch the hypothetical player who could best improve the team's chances in October.
He'd be playing for a team that's out of contention and willing to deal talent. He'd probably be a righthanded hitter; the release of Whit Merrifield on July 12 was a semaphore that seemed to have created an opening in that area. He'd be an above-average defender since his acquisition could mean less playing time for Johan Rojas, whose greatest asset at this point of his career is his glove. He'd have a contract that the Phillies would control beyond the end of this season.
Doggoned if the picture he just drew doesn't look an awful lot like Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox.
The Sox aren't good. Actually, they're horrendous, on a pace to lose 117 games this season. Check. Robert bats righthanded. Check. He won a Gold Glove as a rookie in 2020. Check. Including two option years, he's signed through 2027. Check. He's a 2023 All-Star who also won the Silver Slugger and received MVP votes. As a bonus, he's a natural centerfielder who doesn't turn 27 until next month. His nickname, La Pantera (The Panther), speaks to his athleticism. And he's had both experience and success in the postseason. Check mate.
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In a vacuum, there's probably not a more attractive option on the Phillies metaphorical radar screen.
Said a veteran baseball man who spent most of his career in player evaluation and isn't easily impressed: "He's the stereotypical 5-tool player. No question. He can hit. He has power. Throw, run, defend. The whole nine yards. Capable of stealing bases. Plays hard.
"He's the kind of guy you want to come and watch. On any given day, he can hit you three home runs. He can steal you four bases. He can go to the wall and jump over the fence to catch a ball. There isn't anything he can't do. He's legitimate."
Getting Robert would presumably allow Rob Thomson to platoon Brandon Marsh in left. The Phillies manager has talked a lot about having confidence that the lefthanded-swing Marsh is capable of hitting lefthanded pitching and only needs to face them enough to be comfortable. The problem is that, in the first half, Marsh only faced southpaws 56 times and batted .143 with a .378 OPS against them.
Another, more Hail Mary scenario, would be that it would give Thomson another valid option if streaky rightfielder Nick Castellanos goes stone cold in the playoffs.
In the real world, it's not that simple. Of course it isn't.
Robert has finished each of the last two seasons on the injured list and missed 53 games earlier this year with a right hip flexor strain. In all, he's been on the IL six times since Opening Day 2021.
"The only big question mark is keeping him on the field," the scout said. "They're legitimate injuries. Everything he's ever had has been real. But, still ... When he goes into funks he has contact problems because he chases breaking balls. You can't get a fastball by him. When he came back (this year) he started a little slow but he's swinging the bat better."
In his last 12 games before the break, Robert batted .318 with a .900 OPS, including 2 homers and 9 RBI.
According to the not-always-reliable baseball grapevine, up to a dozen clubs have expressed interest. And the White Sox haven't discouraged speculation that it would take a real haul to pry him away. There's even some scuttlebutt that the team feels no pressure to trade him now.
The thing about the baseball grapevine, though, is that it's like walking through a hall of funhouse mirrors. Reality is distorted beyond recognition. Teams not only don't advertise their intentions, they happily dish out misinformation trying to create the impression that they're going to zig when they actually plan to zag. Separating truth from rumor is as difficult as trying to solve a Rubik's Cube blindfolded.
The question isn't whether acquiring Robert would make the Phillies a better team. It would. It's determining how much it would cost them both in terms of prospects and money and then deciding whether it's worth the price.
It's been reported the White Sox want a package similar to what the Padres gave up to get Juan Soto from the Nationals at the 2022 deadline. To jog the memory, that was five prospects, four of whom had been ranked in baseball's Top 100 at some point.
It seems unlikely that the Phillies would raid their farm system to get Robert. Dombrowski's edict is not just to win now but to allow the Phillies to consistently contend in years to come. Having a pipeline of talented young players coming up helps balance off the big long-term commitments (Harper, Turner, Nola et al.) that are already on the books. Finding the proper balance between those contradictory impulses can be devilishly difficult, though.
The White Sox can ask for whatever they want. If there's not a buyer willing to ante up, either the price comes down or no sale is made. Because of his injury history, Robert may well not command the haul Washington got for Soto. And, with lingering reports that general manager Chris Getz is under some pressure to reduce his payroll, keeping him in hopes his value will be higher during the offseason may not be a realistic option.
The Panther is making $12.5 million this season and $15 million in 2025. Each of his two option years is for $20 million. Which could also give the Phillies pause. Owner John Middleton has made it clear he's willing to spend to win and is even willing to pay the luxury tax. But at a certain point, it can begin to affect draft choices, which is a different discussion.
For what it’s worth, the White Sox had a scout at Citizens Bank Park during the homestand that ended the first half of the season. The Phillies have had eyes following the White Sox, although they could have been looking at Tommy Pham, another rumored possibility.
Stay tuned.