Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs close to agreement on long-term contract extension: source

MESA, Ariz. — Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates his 24th birthday Wednesday. The icing on his cake will be knowing he’s on the verge of signing a long-term contract extension that will make him a Cub into his 30s.

A Gold Glove center fielder with elite speed who hit 31 homers and stole 35 bases for the Cubs in 2025, Crow-Armstrong is close to an agreement with the team that will be announced Thursday at Wrigley Field, a source said.

The Cubs would buy out Crow-Armstrong’s arbitration years and get cost certainty with the deal while giving financial security to the outfielder, who was scheduled to make $890,000 this season. Crow-Armstrong would have been eligible for arbitration in 2027 and free agency in 2031. The Cubs and Crow-Armstrong’s representatives were known to be discussing an extension on and off for about a year.

Terms of what Crow-Armstrong’s deal is expected to be were not immediately known. USA Today reported in excess of $100 million for at least six years. The Padres signed 22-year-old center fielder Jackson Merrill, similar to Crow-Armstrong in service time, to a nine-year, $135 million deal.

With face-of-the-franchise swagger and energy last season, Crow-Armstrong added 37 doubles and four triples to his home run total and became the fastest player to reach 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season. He was the first 30/30 Cub since Sammy Sosa in 1995. But while establishing himself as the best defensive center fielder in baseball, he faded offensively, producing a .634 OPS following the All-Star break after posting an .847 OPS that earned him an All-Star Game appearance and early MVP consideration.

A free swinger with a propensity to chase, Crow-Armstrong struck out 155 times while drawing just 29 walks. But in the end, he produced a 6.0 WAR, per Baseball Reference, second on the Cubs to Nico Hoerner (6.2). He led all outfielders with 24 Outs Above Average and finished ninth in MVP voting.

Crow-Armstrong was 3-for-10 in the Wild Card Series against the Padres and 2-for-19 in the NLDS against the Brewers with no extra base hits and one stolen base in the postseason. He was 2-for-18 in seven games in spring training, which concludes Tuesday, and hit two homers in one game for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

With designs on a deep postseason run, the Cubs signed free agent Alex Bregman to a $175 million deal in the offseason and traded for Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera. Their projected luxury tax payroll for 2025, per Spotrac, was $224,462,380 at Crow-Armstrong’s current salary, ranking them 11th among major league teams.

The 19th overall draft pick by the Mets out of high school in the 2020 draft, Crow-Armstrong was acquired by the Cubs in a trade for Javier Baez and Trevor Williams a year later. The outfielder broke in with the Cubs in 2023, playing 13 games, and in his first full season in 2024 batted .237/.286/.384 with 10 home runs and 27 stolen bases in 123 games.