Pete Crow-Armstrong says he's focused on the season. But that doesn't mean working out a long-term extension is completely off the table.
The 23-year-old Crow-Armstrong has been a revelation in 2024, racking up a National League-best 3.1 bWAR in 55 games. He's helping the first-place Cubs put up league-best offensive numbers, and he looks the part of a Most Valuable Player candidate.
Because it's only Crow-Armstrong's second year in the league, there's not much pressure on him to get an extension done. That pressure rests with the Cubs, who know the price tag is only going up by the day.
So although Crow-Armstrong has said publicly that he doesn't intend to negotiate an extension while the season is going on, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made it clear Tuesday that he had no objection to returning to the negotiating table.
“Not talking during the season, to me, that’s a player-focused thing,” Hoyer said, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “I’m not playing. I’ve got time to negotiate if they want.”
Hoyer also asserted that the reports that came out in April, which said Crow-Armstrong had turned down a $75 million offer from Chicago before the season, were at least partially inaccurate.
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“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."
One thing is abundantly clear, and that's the fact that anything less than nine figures isn't going to keep Crow-Armstrong in Chicago. And perhaps the Cubs have bigger fish to fry, because while the youngster won't be a free agent until 2029, fellow star outfielder Kyle Tucker is hitting the open market this winter.
But we've seen players say an extension isn't likely and then turn around and sign one quickly thereafter, most recently with Garrett Crochet and the Boston Red Sox. If Hoyer is more motivated behind the scenes to make this happen than he appears when talking to the media, locking up Crow-Armstrong certainly remains a possibility.
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