3 recent trades that prove the Cubs front office deserves our trust

3 recent trades the Cubs won: #1- The infamous Javier Baez trade

As we all know, the Cubs’ now #1 prospect was snatched from the New York Mets at the trade deadline in 2021. Since then, after recovering from shoulder injury, Pete Crow-Armstrong went from Myrtle Beach in Single-A to helping the High-A South Bend Cubs secure a Midwest League championship. In the process, the speedy outfielder batted .312/.376/.520 with 16 home runs and 61 runs batted in. He also swiped 32 bases on the season and played incredible defense in the outfield. Keeping in mind that PCA notched those numbers in only 101 games, it goes to show the potential this kid has.

Watching Javier Baez get traded last summer wasn’t exactly an enjoyable experience, but the emergence of Crow-Armstrong has softened the blow with time. Before being moved, Baez was slashing .248/.292/.484 with Chicago and although he batted .299 with the Mets upon being dealt, he plummeted back down in 2022 with Detroit, registering a slash of just .238/.278/.393, the lowest mark of his career aside from his rookie campaign in 2014. To make matters even worse, he also lead the league with 26 errors in the field.

Trevor Williams, when dealt, had a 5.06 ERA with Chicago and essentially was a no brainer for the Cubs to throw in with Baez at the time. He actually wound up tossing 32 1/3 frames in 2021 for the Mets and recorded a 3.06 ERA. He continued an uptick in production in 2022 with a 3.21 ERA in 89 2/3 frames. He filled a nice role as a spot starter.

Either way, the Cubs now have the #30 prospect in all of baseball in Crow-Armstrong. In the three moves listed above, the front office acquired new #1, 9, 12 and 14 prospects for guys that have mostly been ineffective since. It goes to show even though you can sometimes make moves that haunt you, overall, the front office has given itself a very positive reputation moving forward.