The Chicago Cubs broke a four-year playoff drought by making an aggressive winter deal to fortify their outfield last year and this offseason could bring more of the same.
Last winter, the team executed a surprising trade to bring in superstar slugger Kyle Tucker, who enjoyed an All-Star first half that put the Cubs in strong position to make the postseason. But with Tucker now exploring free agency, the Cubs are could be preparing to anoint a new player as their outfield cornerstone for the future.
“With an All-Star appearance, a Gold Glove and a historic 30-homer, 30-double, 30-stolen base season behind him, the future as a marketing dream for the Chicago Cubs and a mega-million dollar contract seems projectable for Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong,” team insider Bruce Levine wrote for Marquee Sports Network. “Injuries aside, it makes good business sense to ride the PCA popularity vehicle for the next decade.”
After a standout season alongside Tucker, Crow-Armstrong will be a critical piece for the club who will remain much more affordable for some time. He has several more years of arbitration eligibility ahead, and the Cubs plan to use that to work toward a multi-year extension with him this winter.
“Going into his second full season in the major leagues, Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs will revisit a brief negotiation that had the 23-year-old player pushing aside a $90 million contract proposal in the spring, according to MLB sources,” Levine reported.
This past season, Crow-Armstrong chose not to sign an extension agreement with the Cubs just as his breakout season was gaining momentum. Now he should have some more leverage as the two sides plan to revisit those talks, and he could earn a contract in the range of $111 million over eight seasons, as Corbin Carroll did with the Arizona Diamondbacks two years ago.
The Cubs would be overpaying Crow-Armstrong throughout his arbitration years to earn some team friendly years that keep him from entering free agency. After such a strong season, that seems like the right strategy for the team if it can reach a satisfactory number with the player’s camp.
“Even taking Crow-Armonstrong’s second-half slump into account, he still brings an exceptional skill set as well as an exciting style of play, which all fuels the Wrigleyville machine,” Patrick Mooney wrote for The Athletic. “In the club’s 150th NL season, Crow-Armstrong became the first player in franchise history to reach the 30/30/30 level with 31 home runs, 35 stolen bases and 37 doubles.”
That should be enough to convince the Cubs that they want to keep him around for the long-term. But it’s also going to drive the price of an extension up. It sounds like the starting point is $90 million, but a potential new deal for the star outfielder is going to reach nine figures.
