CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs made a notable transaction on Friday, optioning top outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong (PCA) to Triple-A Iowa. The move clarifies the team’s outfield picture just weeks after they re-signed star Cody Bellinger to a three-year, $80 million contract.
New manager Craig Counsell explained the decision to the media, emphasizing that the team’s calculus changed once Bellinger was back in the fold.
“Our thought right now,” Counsell said, “is that the best place for PCA to start is in the minor leagues and start his season that way. And then kind of just knock down the door for us and make us figure something out on the major-league side.”
The demotion for the 21-year-old Crow-Armstrong is not believed to be related to service-time manipulation. Instead, it is a strategic decision based on a crowded major-league depth chart. The Cubs organization reportedly believes it is better for the prospect’s long-term development to get steady, everyday at-bats in Triple-A rather than sporadic playing time with the big-league club.
With the 2024 season approaching, the Cubs’ outfield appears set. The starting lineup features Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki locked into the corners, with Bellinger handling center field and first base. Veteran Mike Tauchman is slotted in as the top alternative.
Furthermore, the designated hitter and first base slots are well-covered by candidates like Patrick Wisdom, offseason addition Michael Busch, and non-roster invitee Garrett Cooper, leaving few available at-bats for a developing player.
Bellinger, the 2019 National League MVP, is coming off his finest season in years. In 2023, he batted .307/.356/.525 (a 133 OPS+) with 26 home runs, 97 RBI, and 4.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR). While some analysts harbor concerns about the sustainability of that performance, citing substandard ball-tracking metrics, the Cubs felt his price tag had fallen to a range where the reward outweighed the risk.
Crow-Armstrong, who made his MLB debut last season, remains a critical piece of the Cubs’ future. He was recently ranked by CBS Sports as the 16th-best prospect in all of baseball. He is widely considered to be an excellent, Gold Glove-caliber defensive outfielder with enough offensive upside to become a well-rounded contributor.
PCA is one of several notable Cubs prospects who could make their presence felt at Wrigley Field before the end of the 2024 campaign. Two other names for fans to keep in mind are right-hander Cade Horton (CBS Sports’ No. 18 prospect) and infielder Matt Shaw (No. 35 prospect), who was the team’s first-round pick last summer.
