Reds predicted to trade for $50 million star before deadline

Billy Heyen

Reds predicted to trade for $50 million star before deadline image

The Cincinnati Reds have won eight of their last 12 games, and that has put them in the think of the playoff race.

Time to be buyers before the MLB trade deadline.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez made a new expert trade prediction on Tuesday: Luis Robert Jr. to the Reds.

The White Sox star centerfielder has been in trade rumors for a while, and Gonzalez sees reason that Cincinnati is a logical destination.

"They brought in a Hall of Fame manager over the offseason in Terry Francona and got really good contributions from a starting rotation that will soon welcome back Hunter Greene," Gonzalez writes. "What the Reds now need is a boost to the lineup, particularly an outfielder, as their outfield has a combined OPS hovering around .700. Robert has had a bad offensive season, but he has turned it on of late and provides some much-needed upside -- not to mention a big right-handed bat against lefties."

MORE: New York Mets on insane win streak thanks to Backyard Baseball legend Pablo Sanchez

Robert has been linked most often to the Mets, but as long as he's still available, other teams will certainly be calling about him, too.

The Cuban centerfielder has an interesting contract situation that could lead to the White Sox keeping him, though.

For both 2026 and 2027, Robert has team options on his deal, each worth $20 million. Chicago has up to two more years of club control of him, so they don't have to trade him away now.

An acquiring team would have to pay the premium for knowing it gets those two additional years of Robert at a fair price.

Cincinnati certainly seems to be in the picture.

MORE MLB NEWS:

Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle