Did the Philadelphia Phillies just make the move of the summer by acquiring a 26-year-old All-Star outfielder to bolster their roster for a deep playoff run?
No, but thousands of people believed that was the case for a few minutes before realizing it was all a hoax. ESPN's Buster Olney was hacked on Twitter/X on Monday afternoon, Here is the report in question:
"The Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox are finalizing a deal that will send star outfielder Luis Robert Jr. to Philadelphia, sources tell ESPN."
While the hacker spent most of his time making ridiculous posts, this one was not that crazy. The New York Post's Jon Heyman noted Robert's potential availability on Thursday and even listed the Phillies as a logical landing spot.
Robert is a career .276 hitter with a .823 OPS (124 OPS+) in 379 games played across five seasons. The rising star has been battling injuries to open the 2024 campaign but is coming off an incredible year.
The White Sox star hit .264 with 75 extra-base hits including 38 home runs, 80 RBIs and a .857 OPS (129 OPS+) in 145 games.
While this report happened to be fake, it would make sense for the Phillies -- who already have the best record in baseball -- to go all out and acquire Robert at the deadline. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has been known to make a splash or two.
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