Lawrence Butler extension could be a jumping off point for Cubs, Pete Crow-Armstrong

About the same time that Pete Chaos - I mean - Pete Crow-Armstrong was wreaking his usual havoc on the basepaths in the Chicago Cubs' Cactus League game against the Kansas City Royals, outfielder Lawrence Butler put the finishing touches on a seven-year, $65.5 million extension with the Athletics.

Butler, 24, is coming off a breakout rookie season in which he slashed .262/.317/.490 with a 131 OPS+, hitting 24 doubles, 22 home runs and swiping 18 bags in 125 games. He's viewed as a long-term centerpiece for the franchise as it shifts its focus to its move to Las Vegas in a few years, along with Brent Rooker, who the team also extended this winter.

He's far from the first young player to get a lengthy extension this early in his career. The Milwaukee Brewers gave rising star Jackson Chourio an eight-year, $82 million extension with a pair of team options on the back end before he ever made his MLB debut. Pittsburgh locked up Ke'Bryan Hayes early on with an eight-year, $70 million pact - and there are other examples out there, as well.

Now is the time for the Cubs to extend Pete Crow-Armstrong

But bringing this back to Crow-Armstrong and the Cubs, it's clear they're hoping for big things from the former first-rounder in 2025. With Cody Bellinger gone, PCA is the everyday center fielder - no questions asked. He's got a 1.326 OPS this spring - a sign the team hopes of things to come after he closed out the 2024 regular season on a heater at the dish.

Last year, he finished the season at 2.3 bWAR (Butler was a 3.0 bWAR, for what it's worth) - but, again, it was in that second-half stretch that he really started to come into his own. Recently, PCA told reporters that he felt he had to have consistent success over a full season before he'd be 'worth' a long-term deal.

“I still gotta go get a full 162 to really deserve that,” Crow-Armstrong told reporters. “But I’m always open to that conversation with them. They’re really good at being straightforward with us, with me at least. That’s been my experience with (team president Jed Hoyer) and (GM Carter Hawkins). I’m gonna leave it up to them. I still gotta prove a little bit more in my eyes.”

Crow-Armstrong is easily the Cubs' most obvious extension candidate at this point. He turns 23 later this month and if he does what we all hope for this season and has that true breakout campaign, getting him to sign a long-term deal that fits his needs and also those of the front office and ownership gets a whole lot more complicated.

He'd provide a long-term building block and a degree of certainty that, right now, doesn't exist. The only players on deals that run past 2026 are Dansby Swanson and, assuming the Cubs pick up his options, Shota Imanaga. Adding PCA to that mix would be a nice feather in the cap of Jed Hoyer as the extensions he doled out to Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner approach the end of their respective timelines next year.

There's more to Crow-Armstrong's game than speed. Most believe he'll develop into a legitimate 20-homer threat, in addition to a 50+ stolen base presence. If small-market teams like the A's and Brewers can find ways to keep their young stars on long-term deals, there should be nothing stopping a team like the Cubs.