Rival's high asking price is exactly why Royals must avoid trading for ex-All-Star

After extending Seth Lugo on Sunday on the heels of trading for Randal Grichuk the day prior, the Kansas City Royals now look to be in a position to push for the postseason.

But after suffering a tough loss on Monday to struggling Atlanta Braves, the Royals sit three games below .500 and 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.

If the Royals want to make the most their recent deals and seemingly newfound competitive direction, they'll need to continue to spend and strengthen this lineup ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.

Despite the Grichuk deal, and even the depth-strengthening trade for Adam Frazier the week prior, the outfield is still a glaring need for Kansas City. Jac Caglianone is now on the IL and the likes of Kyle Isbel and John Rave - who may have some good qualities - are still below average hitters overall this season and arguably replacement-worthy.

If the Royals are to look for outfielders, Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox could be an intriguing buy-low target given he's in the midst of his second consecutive down year at the plate this season.

However, recent news has surfaced about what the Sox might be asking in return from any potential trade suitor, and if it's as high as the reports say, the Royals should certainly steer clear of any Robert deal.

White Sox laughable asking price for Luis Robert Jr. should deter Royals from pursuing a trade for him

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported over weekend that the White Sox have made their price for Robert clear in negotiations with the New York Mets.

"The Chicago White Sox want third baseman Mark Vientos from the New York Mets in any deal for Luis Robert Jr.," Nightengale wrote.

He cited that Robert has looked much stronger in July than his season stat line would indicate. Through his first 12 games of July, the former All-Star is slashing .325/.426/.500 with a 159 wRC+. This certainly exceeds the .204/.293/.339 slash line and current career low 76 wRC+ he's posted in the entirety of this campaign so far.

Now, Vientos isn't having himself a great year himself either, as through Monday he was slashing just .226/.280/.358 with an 81 wRC+. However, he's only a year removed from being a 133 wRC+ godsend for the Mets in both the regular season and most notably in the postseason, with some major heroics including a 1.674 OPS performance in the NLDS against the Phillies.

Robert's 2024 season pales in comparison to Vientos', as he posted an extremely underwhelming .224/.278/.379 slash line with an 84 wRC+.

He's two years removed from a great season, after posting a 129 wRC+ in his lone All-Star campaign in 2023. Even the above average years he had the two seasons prior can only be taken with a grain of salt, as they were both marred by injury. He played just 98 games when he posted a 111 wRC+ in 2022 and 68 games when he posted a 155 wRC+ in 2021.

Again, Vientos has his flaws, no one is denying that. But at two years younger, with less of an injury track record at the big league level and only a year removed from a productive season, he presents far less of a risk.

Now, if Robert were a buy-low option, I think he could be an intriguing option for the Royals. His July output this season is a testament to the type of player he has the potential of being at the plate, and he pairs that with plus defense and baserunning. But again, his major cons displayed the past few seasons production-wise and a career filled with injuries only make this deal work if it's a low-cost situation.

A Vientos-type return isn't a buy-low option by any means. And you'd have to think the price for Robert would be higher for the Royals given they're rivals within the same division.

With injuries piling up, the Royals cannot afford to deal any high potential major-league caliber names to swing this deal, and at this point dealing any one of their promising top prospects to a division rival doesn't seem remotely worth the gamble.

The Royals should be firmly in the camp of acquiring another outfielder in the coming days before 5 p.m. CT strikes on Thursday. Just not this outfielder.