The Chicago Cubs and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer pulling the trigger on the great purge of 2021 will likely be the defining decision of Hoyer’s executive run. It was a bold move to re-stock a depleted farm system that, at the time, was not entirely a popular one.
In July of 2021 Hoyer and the Cubs sold off beloved, almost legendary, Cubs World Series figures Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez as well as Craig Kimbrel, Joc Pederson, and Andrew Chafin. It was an almost historic level of baseball boldness. That purge was preceded by the offseason deal that sent Yu Darvish to the San Diego Padres for a package of prospects.
What The Chicago Cubs Gained (And Lost) In The Great Purge Of 2021
Picked up in that sweeping executive move were a handful of prospects, including those either currently on the 40-man roster or regarded as current top prospects such as Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcantara, Alexander Canario, Caleb Kilian, and Pete Crow-Armstrong.
The moves that year were just as aimed at dealing with budget issues as they were with replenishing the minors (as several of the players above were set to become free agents at the end of that season and others were just bad money fits for the team at the time). But, still, the decisions made redirected the franchise and rebuilt the Cubs infrastructure.
The trade for Crow-Armstrong, especially, may end up being regarded as a key acquisition during that flurry of activity.
In that deal, the Cubs sent shortstop Javier Baez and pitcher Trevor Williams to the New York Mets on July 30, in return for the then-19-year-old center fielder, who was already being regarded as one of the top prospects in baseball.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Practically Stolen From The Mets
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report talked up that Cubs-Mets deal in a piece titled: “MLB Trade Fails That Will Keep Haunting Teams in 2025”
Per Miller:
“The New York Mets took Pete Crow-Armstrong 19th overall in the 2020 draft. But there was no minor league baseball that year, and he only appeared in six Single-A games in 2021 before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
So when the trade deadline rolled around that summer and they were looking to bolster a team that had a four-game lead in the NL East, they were willing to part with PCA before ever getting much of a look at what he could do for them.
…The 2021 Mets relentlessly crashed and burned, losing 38 of their final 60 games and missing the postseason by an 11.5-game margin.
They gained nothing by giving up Crow-Armstrong.”
A Haunting Mistake?
Miller would then go on to point out that “PCA” would continue to earn his reputation as one of the top prospects in the league, while eventually becoming an elite defender in 2024 at the major league level with legit breakthrough potential for 2025.
The Mets, meanwhile, gained nothing from the trade and currently have a hole at center field that Crow-Armstrong would’ve filled nicely, playing between Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto.
PCA has some work to do at the major league level, but he’s definitely trending in the right direction and he’ll probably go down as the prize jewel in the Cubs great purge of 2021.
Baez, meanwhile, gave the Mets one solid half-year and then moved on to a disastrous run as a Detroit Tiger after signing on to a lucrative 6-year, $140 million free agent deal.
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