This portion of the MLB calendar is full of cautionary tales.
The Detroit Tigers traded a 20-year-old John Smoltz to the Atlanta Braves for veteran starter Doyle Alexander in August of 1987.
Three Augusts later, the Boston Crimson Sox despatched a 22-year-old Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for reliever Larry Anderson.
However maybe no current pre-deadline deal is extra related than the Mets’ commerce for Javier Baez in 2021.
To amass Baez and swingman Trevor Williams from the Chicago Cubs, the Mets parted with Pete Crow-Armstrong, then a 19-year-old outfield prospect.
The Mets received two months out of Baez — who performed properly in 47 video games — and missed the playoffs earlier than he left for the Tigers in free company that winter.
Crow-Armstrong, in the meantime, has blossomed into one among baseball’s brightest stars, residing as much as his five-tool potential throughout a breakout season this 12 months.
“I think that’s what you find a lot of people needing, just an opportunity,” Crow-Armstrong, 23, mentioned Friday earlier than the Cubs’ collection opener in opposition to the Yankees within the Bronx.
“It’s not that I didn’t have one with the Mets. I think I was in a really good situation there, but I had a bit of a different road than I had envisioned, getting hurt and having such a small sample size. What was really big with the people [in Chicago] was that I personally felt like it was a huge display of belief in me.”
The Mets used a first-round decide on Crow-Armstrong in 2020 and signed him to a $3.4 million bonus, however there was no minor-league season that 12 months as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
He performed in solely six video games with Single-A St. Lucie in 2021 earlier than present process season-ending surgical procedure on his proper, non-throwing shoulder.
These proved to be the one video games Crow-Armstrong would play with the Mets group, as he was traded to Chicago lower than three months after the operation.
“I was looking for anything good to happen when I was rehabbing,” recalled Crow-Armstrong, who mentioned he was not upset by the commerce on the time. “It was still relatively early on in the rehab process that I got traded. That was nice. It was a change of scenery that ended up being really important.”
Crow-Armstrong made his MLB debut in September of 2023, and whereas he made 410 plate appearances and stole 27 bases with the Cubs final 12 months, he batted simply .237 with 10 house runs and a .670 OPS.
This 12 months has been a lot completely different.
Crow-Armstrong entered Saturday hitting .269 with 25 house runs, an .862 OPS and 27 steals. Solely three gamers in MLB historical past have reached 25 homers and 25 steals in a season extra rapidly.
The middle fielder is ready to begin for the Nationwide League within the All-Star Recreation on Tuesday evening at Atlanta’s Truist Park.
“When I was experiencing what felt like a long, long, tough stretch last year, the biggest learning curve was figuring out how to show up and be a good teammate and make it about the team, especially when you’re not getting regular at-bats,” Crow-Armstrong mentioned.
“You’re trained to be prepared for that time, but you don’t really know how to handle it until you get there. I’m definitely glad I went through it. It gave me a lot of information about how I handle failure and who I am when stuff gets tough.”
The careers of Crow-Armstrong and Baez stay intertwined, not least of which as a result of Baez is ready to begin the All-Star Recreation for the American League, additionally in heart subject, a place he switched to this season.
“I think that’s really cool,” Crow-Armstrong mentioned. “I don’t think ‘full circle’ is really the term for it, but it’s cool I’ll be playing across from him, playing the same position as him, when I never really thought that was going to be a thing.”
However Crow-Armstrong’s story has been filled with surprises.
“It’s always nice feeling like you’re giving people their money’s worth,” Crow-Armstrong mentioned of his breakout season. “But I think my biggest battle was always proving to myself.”
Initially Printed: July 12, 2025 at 10:29 AM EDT
