The Chicago Cubs tried to sign Pete Crow-Armstrong to a contract extension back in March. Those talks did not end with an agreement and in April a report leaked that the two sides were indeed trying to work out a deal. Since then, PCA has been the most valuable player in the National League and his price has certainly gone up. The Cubs know it, but more importantly it's not deterring them from trying to secure their star center fielder on a longterm extension.
Jed Hoyer recently broke his silence as the Crow-Armstrong extension rumors have intensified. National MLB insider Jon Heyman wrote in the New York Post last week that the Cubs continue to make attempts to sign PCA to an extension after their initial negotiations fell through in spring training.
Via the New York Post.
The Cubs are making in-season overtures toward NL MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong after offering him between $60 million and $70 million on a long-term deal in spring. They’re obviously willing to raise their bid, however, the ask is rising exponentially with PCA exploding.
The Cubs were likely using Lawrence Butler ($65.5M) and Ezequiel Tovar ($63.5M) as comps in spring. They know they need new comps now.
After a sluggish couple weeks to begin the 2025 season Crow-Armstrong has become a vital contributor in the middle of the Cubs lineup. He's up to a 135 wRC+ through 55 games, is tied with Seiya Suzuki for the team lead in home runs with 14, second in RBI at 49 and Crow-Armstrong leads the way with 16 stolen bases.
Oh and at 23-years-old PCA is already one of the top defensive players in all of MLB. So yeah, there's a reason the Cubs want to get a deal done sooner rather than later.
Heyman was on 670 The Score Tuesday morning, when he further discussed what a contract extension could now look like for Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs.
Via 670 The Score.
Heyman surmised that $140 million could be the range to get Crow-Armstrong to sign a long-term deal given how well he has played.
“They better sign him,” Heyman said. “I don’t think they have any choice now. We’re not talking about enormous bucks. This isn’t a (Kyle) Tucker situation. We’re talking about a guy with a bunch of arb years to go. He may not sign long into his free agency, but you’ve got to sign him at least one year into free agency and hopefully two years. As I wrote in the Post, they offered $60 million to $70 million, presumably over seven years. I heard it was $66 million.
“The Cubs have been watching. They know that wasn’t enough at this point. He’s an MVP candidate. They’ve had some talks since then, and they are still trying.”
While Hoyer likes to play his cards close to the vest he did address negotiating with players during the regular season. On Tuesday, Hoyer spoke to media at Wrigley Field and pretty much relayed that the Cubs are open to negotiate with PCA in-season.
Via The Athletic.
While Hoyer will defer to Crow-Armstrong’s preferences, the Cubs do not have a strict organizational policy against in-season negotiations.
“We hadn’t talked in a couple weeks when it leaked out,” Hoyer said. “In general, it’s just easier to negotiate if it’s not out in the media. People aren’t speculating on numbers and things like that. Even the number that came out about that wasn’t right. The more we can keep things under wraps, the better."
PCA is under team control through the 2030 season. Any extension talks would include his arb years being bought out and at least one year of free agency. The Cubs probably want to tack on a few option years to make it better for them at the back-end of an extension with Crow-Armstrong.
The comps for PCA have now moved into the Corbin Carroll and Jackson Merrill territory. The Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to an eight-year, $111 million extension with Carroll in 2023. That deal could be worth as much as $134 million. Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres and Merrill worked out a nine-year, $135 million guaranteed contract back in April.
Crow-Armstrong is represented by Creative Artists Agency, the same agency that negotiated Carroll's deal with the Diamondbacks.
The Cubs know they have a star in Pete Crow-Armstrong and for the first time in a long time, they're publicly making it know that they want to keep one of their young studs around for a long time.
We'll see if PCA returns to the negotiating table later this year. One thing is for sure, if he keeps up his current performance, then his asking price will continue to go up.
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