Trade proposal suggests KC Royals acquire former Silver Slugger

Just as they were before the Winter Meetings at the start of December, the Kansas City Royals are still in the market for a middle-of-the-order bat — preferably one who plays either outfield or third base — and options are quickly disappearing. Now, Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer has named the "best landing spot for top MLB players linked to trade rumors," and proposed a mock trade that would see Chicago White Sox slugger Luis Robert Jr. move to the Royals.

"This is purely speculation, but the Royals should try their hand at plucking Robert from their AL Central rivals," Rymer wrote. "They need offensive support for Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez just in general, but especially in center field. The position produced a .642 OPS and eight home runs this year, numbers that Robert easily cleared even amid his down year."

Rymer proposed that in return for Robert, the Royals could send two top prospects to the White Sox — pitcher Ben Kudrna (No. 3 in the Royals' system) and outfielder Gavin Cross (No. 6).

"The Royals aren't rich in prospect talent, but one supposes that doesn't give them much to protect," Rymer continued. "And after a surprising run to the playoffs this year, they might as well go for broke."

Should the KC Royals target a trade for Luis Robert Jr.?

In 2024 with the White Sox, Robert posted a .224/.278/.379 line with 14 home runs and 35 RBI in 425 plate appearances. As pointed out by Rymer, it was clearly a "down year" for the center fielder, who is just one season removed from earning an All-Star selection and Silver Slugger Award with his 264/.315/.542 slashline, 38 home runs, 80 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.

Even coming off a disappointing season, there's no denying that Robert is a strong presence on the White Sox's lineup — but unfortunately, he's not always on there. Injuries have plagued the 27-year-old, who was sidelined for 62 games of the 2024 season. In fact, 2023 is still the only season of his career in which he managed to play more than 100 games, and even then, he missed the All-Star Game due to a calf injury.

Still, Robert would be a major upgrade, both on offense and defense, over the current outfield squad lining up for the Royals. In 2024, Kansas City utilized MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, Hunter Renfroe, Tommy Pham, and Garrett Hampson in the outfield at different times, and not one of them managed an OPS over .700. Pham and Hampson both entered free agency at the end of the season, but Isbel, Melendez, and Renfroe are all slated as starters in 2025.

By trading for Robert, the Royals would have flexibility to just use Renfroe — who exercised his player option for 2025 after a rather abysmal campaign last year — as depth, which could come in handy if Robert runs into further injury issues.

Would the KC Royals trade away two of their top prospects?

Robert would certainly bolster both the Royals outfield and their batting lineup, but whether the team would be prepared to give up Kudrna and Cross to get him is a harder question to answer. If general manager J.J. Picollo is looking to take a win-now approach to 2025 after the Royals' historic comeback last year, trading the two top prospects could make sense. Otherwise, it's a huge sacrifice, and considering Roberts' injury history and declining stats, it's likely to backfire.

Not only are Kudrna and Cross highly ranked in the Royals' system — No. 3 and No. 6, respectively — but they are also the only two of the team's top 10 prospects with an expected major league debut in 2025. That means the Royals would be sacrificing two players they likely could utilize this season, and considering Cross is an outfielder, it may be less risky to pass on Robert and continue developing Cross as an internal option to upgrade the major league outfield.

If Robert can stay healthy, he could be a game-changer for the Royals' outfield — but the trade proposed by Rymer is still highly unlikely to happen. Kansas City would be giving up future stars for an outfielder who comes with a lot of concerns and possible problems, and right now, it's just far too risky.