Welcome back to the Cubs Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2005, including the Cubs since the 2019 season. |
CHICAGO -- As Pete Crow-Armstrong scanned the room during the press conference for his new extension with the Cubs on Friday, the center fielder spotted assistant general manager Jared Banner standing in the back. Banner has been connected to Crow-Armstrong since the beginning of his professional path. “J.B., we go way back,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I don’t know if I’d be in a Cubs uniform if it wasn’t for you. I appreciate the tough love the very first day that I showed up late to Mets camp.” Crow-Armstrong smirked and laughter broke out in the room. “It wasn’t 10-15 minutes late,” said Banner, smiling at the memory on Sunday at Wrigley Field. “He was a couple hours late.” During the 2020 season, Banner worked in the Mets’ player development system, and Crow-Armstrong was due to report for instructional league that fall. On the first day, players were scheduled to go through testing amid the COVID-19 pandemic protocols. Banner and his staff went over the roster to make sure everyone checked in. The 18-year-old kid picked by the Mets 19th overall in the 2020 Draft was missing. |
“There was one name left on the list: Pete Crow-Armstrong,” Banner said. “We’re looking around like, ‘Where’s Pete?’ No one could find him. We tried calling him. Eventually, it was like, ‘Let’s send somebody to the hotel. We don’t know what’s going on. There could be trouble here.’ “We sent someone over there and they’re banging on the door and finally he wakes up. He was just asleep. Remember when you were younger and you could sleep all day? Pete was in that mode.” Banner said the “tough love” he gave Crow-Armstrong was not anything more than a quick pep talk. “I just told him, ‘Hey, Pete, you’re a pro now. This can’t happen,’” Banner said. “It wasn’t anything crazy, but it’s a funny moment now looking back.” Crow-Armstrong appreciated how Banner handled that moment six years ago. “That’s where our relationship started,” he said to Banner during the press conference. “I gained a lot of respect and admiration for you that day, just because you didn’t care that I was a first-round pick and this guy that’s walking in with his hair all bleached and an earring in. With the tough love, you still encouraged me to be myself.” As fate would have it, both Banner and Crow-Armstrong were eventually reunited with the Cubs. |
At the 2021 Trade Deadline, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer took on an aggressive rebuild, trading core players Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Báez, among others. In Báez talks, Hoyer found a potential fit in the Mets, and Banner -- now in the Cubs’ front office -- advocated for Crow-Armstrong to be in the deal. “If anyone was pounding the table to get Pete, it was Jared,” Hoyer said. “He knew the kind of person he was and the kind of talent he had.” Maybe if it were not for COVID shortening Crow-Armstrong’s final season at Harvard-Westlake High School, he would not have fallen to the Mets in the Draft. Maybe if Crow-Armstrong had not sustained a right shoulder injury that limited him to six games in 2021, he would not have been available in a trade. Maybe if Banner does not move to Chicago, Crow-Armstrong would not be roaming center now for the North Siders. Maybe the Cubs consider themselves fortunate, but they now have a cornerstone player and budding star locked in for years to come. “After acquiring Pete,” Banner said, “he’s had such a growth mindset. He wanted to get better every day and he’s so hard-working. You add those things in with his talent and that’s how we ended up where we are now.” |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Nico Hoerner’s new six-year extension gives him the potential to spend 14 years in a Cubs uniform. Who was the last player to reach at least 14 seasons played for Chicago? A. Sammy Sosa B. Ryne Sandberg C. Mark Grace D. Ernie Banks |
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HOERNER, PCA DEALS SOLIDIFY CORE |
Not only did the Cubs give Crow-Armstrong a six-year, $115 million extension on Opening Day, the club followed it up with a six-year, $141 million extension with second baseman Nico Hoerner. With those players inked to guaranteed deals, Chicago has further cemented a core group for the upcoming seasons. Third baseman Alex Bregman is under contract through 2030 and shortstop Dansby Swanson is signed through ‘29. Looking at the group of players under contractual control, important pieces like Michael Busch and Miguel Amaya are in place through ‘29, while Cade Horton and Daniel Palencia are in the fold through ‘30. “It’s really cool,” Horton said on Saturday. “I feel like it just allows us to build a better relationship with the guys around us, just knowing that they’re going to be here. Those are the guys that are going to be in the dog days, the good days, the highs, the lows. … We have a foundation. Now it’s all about focusing on the day to day.” |
• After a runner-up ROY finish, Horton stellar in ‘26 debut. Read more >> • Seiya Suzuki getting closer to rehab games in comeback. Read more >> • Cubs hungry for big things as ‘26 season begins. Read more >> • Wind robbed Ian Happ of a homer by how much? Read more >> |
“It was humbling for him to even mention me and so many others who impacted him. But the reality is, Pete’s done a lot more for us than we’ve done for him. He is a consummate professional. He plays the game hard. He’s a great teammate. He’s great off the field. He’s a great representative for the Cubs' organization and what we stand for. And that’s before you even get into discussing how great of a player he is.” -- Banner, on Crow-Armstrong thanking him during the extension press conference |
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B. Ryne Sandberg There have been 11 players in Cubs history to appear in at least 14 seasons with the ballclub. Sandberg was the most recent to do so, playing in 15 seasons for the North Siders between 1982-97. The record for most seasons with the franchise is held by Cap Anson, who appeared in 22 for the club from 1876-97. |
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