The Mets have plenty to regret from a miserable 2026 season, but Pete Crow-Armstrong has to sit near the top of the list. New York sold at the trade deadline, fired its manager, and has spent much of the year without much production from its stars because of injuries. Meanwhile, Crow-Armstrong is in Chicago and looking like the runaway NL MVP favorite.
That pain lands harder because the Mets were the team that sent Crow-Armstrong to the Cubs a few years ago in the Javier Baez deal. It’s the kind of move that looks bad in hindsight and looks even worse when the player in question turns into a star.
But New York isn’t the only club carrying that kind of scar. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale pointed out that the Dodgers and Guardians also made similar mistakes by moving away future MVP-caliber talent early in those players’ minor league careers.
“It’s pretty wild considering that the National League’s MVP and the top two AL MVP candidates were all traded early in their minor league careers,” Nightengale writes.
The Dodgers’ miss came with Yordan Alvarez, who was 19 at the time he was dealt for Josh Fields. Alvarez is mashing for the Astros this year and has a real shot at the AL Triple Crown.
Cleveland’s version was Junior Caminero, sent to the Rays for Tobias Myers. Caminero has become one of the game’s best power hitters, and that’s exactly the sort of bat the Guardians could use. Their offense is badly short on home runs, so losing that kind of pop hurts even more.
The contrast is stark. The Mets and Dodgers have the resources and star power to cushion the blow a little. Cleveland doesn’t have that luxury.
So while Mets fans have every reason to wince over the Crow-Armstrong deal, the story is bigger than one team’s bad day. The Dodgers let Alvarez get away.
The Guardians moved Caminero too soon. And all three clubs are now watching players they once had in hand climb into MVP conversations somewhere else.
In Other News...
Cubs Suddenly Have A Frightening Bregman Problem For The Stretch Run
The Cubs got a jolt they did not need in the middle of a late-season push when Alex Bregman was struck in the face by a foul ball while standing in the on-deck circle against Cincinnati and had to leave for the clubhouse. Matt Shaw stepped in to replace him, but the bigger concern for Chicago is what Bregman has meant since the second half of the season began, when he emerged as one of the clubs key offensive pieces.
For a team trying to keep its footing in the stretch run, any scare involving a lineup centerpiece quickly becomes more than a single-game interruption. The Cubs were already leaning on Bregman for steady production, and now they have to wait and see how much time, if any, they may lose at a point in the season when every at-bat and every win carries extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Could Have A Short-Term Answer If Ian Happ Walks
The Cubs are headed into an offseason that could leave one corner of their outfield in flux, with Ian Happ expected to test free agency and Seiya Suzuki also set to explore the market. Suzuki still profiles as a possible long-term fit if Chicago decides to keep the conversation going, but the broader picture points to a club that may need to bridge a gap while its next wave keeps developing. Josiah Hartshorn and Kane Kepley are part of that longer-term pipeline, which makes the next move less about a permanent fix and more about finding the right handoff.
That is why a short-term outfield addition could make sense, even if it comes with some risk attached. Teoscar Hernndez has come up as a potential trade target from the Dodgers, but the appeal is tempered by concern over his recent performance and the cost of taking on his contract. For a Cubs team trying to stay competitive without blocking the future, the challenge may be finding an answer sturdy enough to matter now and flexible enough not to get in the way later. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs May Have Another Homegrown Bat Rising Faster Than Expected
Kane Kepley has already made a strong first impression in the Cubs system, and it has come in the kind of all-around package that tends to get attention quickly. The 2025 draft pick has paired a .914 OPS in his professional debut with a 130 wRC+ in 2026, while also showing the sort of on-base skill and speed that can change games even when the bat cools off. His 66 stolen bases in 121 games this year only add to the sense that this is a player who can affect the game in more than one way.
What makes Kepley especially intriguing for the Cubs is how steady the profile looks from day to day. The comparison to Pete Crow-Armstrong is an obvious one in style, and Kepleys consistency has raised the possibility that he could force his way into significant playing time sooner than expected. For a club that has spent plenty of time looking for homegrown impact bats, that is the kind of development worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]