Forgotten former Yankees outfielder just became crucial to White Sox after Luis Robert Jr. trade

Former New York Yankees top prospect Everson Pereira just accidentally became important at work and it's ruining his life.

The divide between the haves and have nots became an even clearer chasm on Tuesday night, as the Mets agreed to absorb Luis Robert Jr.'s full $20 million salary in 2026 in an effort to lessen the prospect cost of the trade package. That meant the White Sox, with precisely one prominent trade chip who didn't fit their perceived timeline, decided to hold, hold, hold, then sell low on him.

Even lower than they needed to, in fact. Robert Jr.'s performance and poor health did plenty to diminish his value, but the White Sox went ahead and diminished it further in the face of backlash, accepting light-hitting, no-longer-a-prospect infielder Luisangel Acuña, as well as a Harvard pitcher who walked seven men per nine innings in the Ivy League last season (intriguing stuff, though).

Now, it's out with Robert Jr. and in with Munetaka Murakami (until his short contract ends and he eventually ends up a Dodger). That leaves an outfield that looks partially like a late-2022 Yankees injury-fueled fever dream, occupied by both Andrew Benintendi and Everson Pereira when healthy.

Good for Pereira, who gets an opportunity that's not with the Tampa Bay Rays and falls comfortably outside the AL East. But bad for Pereira that he has to be one of the front-facing pieces of this miserable menagerie. Just ... look at this.

Mets trade for Luis Robert Jr., vault ex-Yankees top prospect Everson Pereira into prominent role

Pereira's 2025 tenure with the Rays — sorry! — looked a lot like his bleak, post-Yankees unofficial elimination cameo at the end of the 2023 campaign. In 23 MLB games, he homered twice and hit .138. His big-league totals now include a .146 average and unsightly .442 OPS in an ever-growing sample size of 176 plate appearances. It's safe to say his .864 OPS with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year still hasn't translated.

It will be nice (from afar) to see Pereira get a chance to grab the keys to Chicago's car, but after looking at the rest of the depth chart, it's sadly safe to say Rate Field might feel like just as much of a minor-league ballpark as George M. Steinbrenner Field did last summer.

Based on his career OPS disparity, though, that might be a silver lining for Pereira rather than another slap in the face.