Jed Hoyer on the Trade Negotiations That Netted Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong, and More

Sometimes when negotiating, it's best to take the approach of letting the other side talk themselves into a bad decision. That's exactly what happened in 2021 when Chicago was able to acquire Pete Crow-Armstrong from the New York Mets. Appearing on the New York Post Sports YouTube channel and The Show podcast, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer talked about the details behind the scenes of that trade that helped Chicago land its star center fielder. 

That summer, of course, the Cubs pivoted from a core that had helped win a World Series in 2016 to having a fire sale. It included fan favorite Javier Báez, who (along with spare arm Trevor Williams) went to the Mets in exchange for Crow-Armstrong.

Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman asked Hoyer on Monday how it was Crow-Armstrong that ended up being the prospect the Cubs got back, and Hoyer noted that the Mets went into discussions taking many prospects off the table.

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"I mean, probably good fortune honestly," Hoyer said of how it was Crow-Armstrong that ended up in Chicago. "You know the Mets took a bunch of guys off the table right away. Matt Allan was off the table. [Francisco Alvarez] was off the table. I'm pretty sure [Brett Baty] was off the table. [Mark Vientos] was a guy that was kind of discussed a little bit, but it was clear they didn't want to part with him."

So why were the Mets fine with parting with Crow-Armstrong? Hoyer said an injury suffered by Crow-Armstrong earlier that year made him expendable in the eyes of the Mets.

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"At the time, I think Pete played like six games in Low-A and got hurt. He was sort of out of sight, out of mind, I believe. Looking back, I think his injury didn't allow him to perform and therefore, I think he became a guy they were willing to trade in that deal."

There is plenty of name recognition with the players who were just prospects for the Mets in 2021 that were taken off the table. There's no disputing that none of them, at least with the hitters in Alvarez, Baty and Vientos, have put together a stretch as good as what Crow-Armstrong has done to start the 2025 season. Crow-Armstrong leads the National League in WAR and has a chance to become the first player in the National League to post a 10+ WAR season since Barry Bonds did it back in 2004.

Everyone knew the glove and the baserunning would help elevate those numbers, but it's been the bat that has truly taken things to another dimension for Chicago's rising star. It also makes one wonder: if not for the injury in 2021 and had the Mets been able to see Crow-Armstrong in the minors in a larger sample size, would he have been taken off the table too? We'll never know, and that's a great thing for the Cubs.

The Mets went into negotiations knowing they wouldn't part with certain prospects. They stuck to their guns, but ask any Mets fan today (or give truth serum to anyone who was in that front office) and bring up if they'd rather have Crow-Armstrong now or any of Allan, Alvarez, Baty or Vientos, and the answer would unanimously land with the one that they traded in Crow-Armstrong.

Crow-Armstrong is having an MVP-caliber season to date. One look at his Statcast page and almost all of it lights up in red. One area that does not is the chase percentage. Of all the incredible things Crow-Armstrong has done this year, the ability to not chase pitches hasn't been one. In fact, Crow-Armstrong is in the 1st percentile when it comes to chase percentage.

Despite that lack of patience, though, Crow-Armstrong has been able to overcome it with pure brilliance in almost every other department offensively. As for the chase rate? Don't expect Hoyer and the Cubs to try and get in Crow-Armstrong's head right now to change it.

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"I don't really see that changing right now the way he's going," Hoyer said. "He's able to touch a lot of pitches and as a result I think that gives him confidence to do it. I think for now it's going to be a hard thing to change, but I think over time, my guess is that the swing rate will come down a little bit."

The strategy of letting it play out (for now) is a wise one for the Cubs. Crow-Armstrong has been on such a tear this season that the last thing you would want to do is fill his mind up more by telling him to be less aggressive and more selective. The good heavily outweighs the bad when it comes to everything you get offensively with Crow-Armstrong, so just let it ride for now and push those chips into the middle of the table. If there were to be a prolonged, serious slump for Crow-Armstrong, maybe then you have those conversations. If not, put it on the back burner until the offseason.

Chicago is both fortunate and wise to have acquired Crow-Armstrong from the Mets for what turned out to be a rental in Báez. Crow-Armstrong is trending toward being a foundational piece of the puzzle for the Cubs, while Báez is in his fourth year in Detroit.

For that, the Cubs can thank the Mets for taking control of the early trade conversations back in 2021.