When the 2026 Major League Baseball season comes to an end, it's significantly more likely than not that Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is going to nab the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Who saw that one coming?
Not many people.
The obvious frontrunner coming into the season was Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani has lived up to the hype for most of the season. He was excellent on the mound for much of the season and has been a game-changer at the top of Los Angeles' lineup, naturally. If he were still pitching right now, he would likely wrap up the award. But he's not pitching right now and that has opened the door for Crow-Armstrong.
The 24-year-old has been incredible. He has 23 outs above average, which is just one behind Bobby Witt Jr. for the league lead. He's going to win another Gold Glove Award and could even get a Platinum Glove. Plus, he's slashing .282/.376/.573 with a .949 OPS, 38 homers, 91 RBIs, 32 stolen bases, 27 doubles, seven triples, and 100 runs scored. He's leading the league with 8.4 wins above replacement.
Crow-Armstrong is in his fourth season in the big leagues, all with the Cubs. But he wasn't drafted by Chicago. He was taken with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft by the New York Mets and then was traded to the Cubs in exchange for Javier Báez, right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams and cash considerations.
Báez played part of the 2021 season in New York and then left to join the Detroit Tigers. Williams appeared in 40 total games for the Mets across the 2021 and 2022 seasons before joining the Washington Nationals in 2023.
Crow-Armstrong is just 24 years old. This is a deal that already has aged poorly. If he can keep at this pace, it's going to get worse and worse.