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Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong is 'everything fans want' with big new contract extension
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by Yahoo
MESA, AZ — The Chicago Cubs, barring an unexpected snag, are expected to officially announce outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s long-term contract extension on Thursday, March 26, the day of the team’s regular-season opener against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field.
While Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs declined to address the contract on Tuesday, a day after news broke of the agreement, it will guarantee Crow-Armstrong in excess of $100 million and it’s clear this was the result everyone wanted all along.
The signing of Crow-Armstrong, which will take him past his original free agency of 2030 also signifies the Cubs’ strong financial commitment. They will have spent more money this winter than any team in baseball, exceeding $340 million.
“Look, young, very talented players, you want them to be in your franchise for a long time,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Tuesday morning. “I think that’s every franchise’s goal.”
Crow-Armstrong, who turns 24 on Wednesday and was originally set to earn $894,000 this season, is certainly the Cubs’ most electrifying player and has been a fan-favorite since reaching the majors. He became the fastest player in Cubs history to reach 30 home runs and steal 30 bases last season, finishing with 31 homers, 37 doubles, 35 stolen bases and 95 RBIs.
“He plays with an energy that the fans really appreciate,” Cubs veteran Ian Happ told reporters Tuesday outside the clubhouse. “Major League Baseball is like, ‘What do the fans want? They want more stolen bases. More triples. Highlight plays.’ He is everything fans want and that the fans enjoy watching. He feeds into that with the energy that he plays with on the field.
“It’s been really easy coming up as a top prospect for the fans to fall in love with him. Obviously, he loves Chicago and has really embraced that part of it.”
The Cubs acquired Crow-Armstrong as the top prospect in the 2021 trade that sent Javier Baez to the New York Mets.
Crow-Armstrong, who earned an All-Star berth last summer, has emerged as one of the game’s brightest young stars, and perhaps the finest defensive center fielder in the National League. He was on an MVP-pace in the first half last season hitting .265 with 25 home runs and 27 stolen bases, but tailed off the second half, hitting just .216 with six homers and eight steals.
“Pete is an incredibly entertaining player,” Counsell said. “That’s a kind of a gift that he has. And you know he’s, he’s an emotional player. That’s great for fans, but as long as fans can understand you’re going to get the good and the bad with that. It’s not always the hip-hip hooray stuff, and that’s part of it. I love that, and I think fans love it too. It’s just who Pete is.
“He’s not trying to put on an act. Players have to be themselves, and a different player it wouldn’t work for, but’s it’s how Pete needs to play. One of the things I really hope for Pete is that the emotion that he plays with, he harnesses it a little in some better directions at times. But it’s always evident to the fans. I think it’s a great thing, and it’s a wonderful thing to watch. It really is.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pete Crow-Armstrong contract extension for Cubs’ phenomenal PCA