The Cubs may have found the crown jewel of that Javier Báez deal, and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s season has made the whole thing look even sweeter in Chicago.
Entering Saturday, Crow-Armstrong was sitting on a .278/.372/.520 line with 45 home runs and 107 RBI. Add in the kind of defense that changes games in center field, and he’s stacked up 9.8 bWAR and 10.7 fWAR.
In the National League, that’s not just MVP-level production. It’s the best production in the league, period.
What makes it hit even harder for the Cubs is how they got him. Back in 2021, they landed Crow-Armstrong as a prospect in the trade that sent Javier Báez away in one of that deadline’s biggest moves. At the time, Crow-Armstrong was already viewed as one of the top outfield prospects in baseball, but the expectation was more along the lines of a glove-first center fielder who might grow into an All-Star down the road.
That kind of trade path should sound familiar to more than a few teams around the league.
Not long after the Mets moved Báez, the Guardians sent Junior Caminero to the Rays in a deal for pitching prospect Tobias Myers. It has become one of the roughest trades in recent Guardians memory, and Caminero’s rise has only made it sting more. He’s turned into one of the most dangerous hitters in the game and an MVP candidate of his own, while Myers never threw a big league pitch for Cleveland before being designated for assignment.
Caminero isn’t going to win the American League MVP, but he should land in the top three after posting an .880 OPS with 41 home runs and 99 RBI. Every one of those homers is another reminder of what Cleveland gave up.
The Mets, though, have their own case of regret. They brought in Báez expecting him to help immediately during a push for the postseason, but the season ended with a 77-85 record. Báez did play well for them, but the stint was also marked by the infamous thumbs-down moment involving him and Francisco Lindor, a headline nobody in Queens wanted.
Crow-Armstrong didn’t reach the majors until 2023, then earned his first All-Star selection last season before taking off in a big way this year. With both he and Caminero sitting near the center of the awards conversation, there’s going to be plenty of wincing in Cleveland and Queens when the votes are announced on Nov. 11.
At least the Guardians can point to the fact they made the postseason this year. Mets fans? Not so much.
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Messicks season line tells part of the story, with a 12-9 record and a 2.55 ERA underscoring how important he has become to the rotation. He is expected to start the regular season finale and then take on a key role in the American League Division Series, giving Guardians fans one more reason to feel good about where this team stands heading into October. [Read more 🡒]