BREAKING: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs Agree on Long-Term Contract

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Cubs aren't letting their next core slip out the door the way the last one did. They've agreed to a long-term deal with star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to report the news, on Twitter.

Crow-Armstrong, who will turn 24 on Wednesday, was already under team control through 2030, but was due to reach arbitration eligibility next winter as a Super Two player. He batted .247/.287/.481 in a breakthrough 2025 campaign, with 37 doubles, 4 triples, 31 home runs and 35 stolen bases. He continues to struggle with plate discipline, but is arguably the best defensive center fielder in baseball. Playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, he hit two home runs and had a .965 OPS, elevating what had already become an international profile during last year's Tokyo Series against the Dodgers.

The deal is not yet finalized, but is expected to extend the Cubs' control of Crow-Armstrong by at least two seasons, a source said. The structure will be different, but the terms are believed to be similar to those to which the Diamondbacks and Corbin Carroll agreed in 2023, and to those on which Jackson Merrill and the Padres got together last spring. Those deals were for $111 million over eight years and $135 million over nine years, respectively, though each of those players had less service time than Crow-Armstrong has and were further from arbitration eligibility. This deal, then, could include more guaranteed money but compensate by giving the Cubs an extra club option. Though similarly dynamic, Crow-Armstrong is less well-rounded at the plate than are Carroll and Merrill, making the comparison instructive but imperfect.

As we reported last April, Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs had extension talks before his breakout season, but they didn't come especially close to agreeing at the time. Crow-Armstrong's camp sought a nine-figure guarantee, and were only willing to come to the table if at least $80 million were guaranteed and half that much again were attainable via incentives and options. The Cubs, by contrast, offered him a deal that could have topped out around $80 million, but which was only set to guarantee him a bit over $50 million. In 11 months, he more than doubled his earning power.

Though they could structure the deal to begin in 2027, a league source said the Cubs will absorb the hit to their competitive-balance tax payroll figure for 2026, pushing them deeper into the first tier but not to the threshold of the second tier of tax penalties. That will soften the blow in future years by lengthening the deal and lowering its annual average value. The team still faces open questions about whether to extend Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki—all due to become free agents this fall. However, Crow-Armstrong is now locked in as the center-field centerpiece of what the team hopes will be its next championship core.

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[Joe Sbertoli]

Huge news for him and the team right before the season kicks off! 🐻 And now the pressure of securing that long-term deal is off his plate. Great news.

[Bologna_Tugboat]

Nice work Jed. Didn’t think he had it in him, A bit wild to think how exceptionally rare it has been to see this team lock up its young talent. This is refreshing. I’ll guess 7/$180M.