It looks like the Mets won the Luis Robert Jr. trade, maybe even in the eyes of the team they traded with to get him.
When the Mets acquired the center fielder from the White Sox last month, they gave up promising infielder Luisangel Acuña, known for his defense and speed.
But on at least four different occasions since the trade, Chris Getz, the White Sox president and general manager, publicly referred to Acuña as a “switch hitter.”
The only problem is that Acuña is not a switch hitter. He only hits from the right side.
As Roundtable Sports’ Sam Phalen noted on X, formerly known on Twitter, Getz called Acuña a switch hitter four separate times in different sessions with media members.
Of course, Acuña would be valued more highly if he did, in fact, hit from both sides of the plate.
But over the course of his professional career, including in the minors and winter ball, there’s no record of the 23-year-old ever having a left-handed at-bat.
Getz’s mishaps gained enough attention that he released a statement Thursday morning.
“So I probably have been getting carried away describing his versatility,” Getz said of Acuna. “He can play every position on the field. Why does it have to stop there? I called Luisangel and told him that even though he’s just right-handed, we still love him.”
The Mets acquired Acuña, the brother of Atlanta star Robert Acuña Jr., from the Texas Rangers prior to the trade deadline in 2023 in exchange for Max Scherzer.
They swapped him — along with 22-year-old minor league right-hander Truman Pauley — this offseason for Robert, who is penciled in as the Mets’ center fielder after consecutive poor seasons in Chicago.
And it’s likely another strike for Getz with the White Sox, since he’s been running the team since August 2023 and Chicago went on to lose an MLB-record 121 games the following season and 102 last year — although they are expected to be better this year.
