Pete Crow-Armstrong's contract could become the defining move of Jed Hoyer's tenure

When you think about the best move Theo Epstein made during his legendary tenure with the Chicago Cubs, it's easy to get lost in a litany of choices. You could make a case for signing Jon Lester, drafting Kris Bryant, or poaching Joe Maddon, though those were all fairly obvious decisions that most executives would have pulled the trigger on.

I'd wager that trading for Anthony Rizzo was the peak of his value-seeking prowess, though I'd be hard-pressed to argue against anyone who points to the Jake Arrieta trade. Oh, and there's the Ryan Dempster trade that returned Kyle Hendricks as a "throw-in." Point is, there's a flavor for everyone when discussing Epstein's run in Chicago.

Jed Hoyer, on the other hand, is approaching "vanilla or nothing" territory. Swapping Javier Báez (and Trevor Williams) for Pete Crow-Armstrong is the obvious crown jewel in his collection, and getting PCA's signature on a six-year extension prior to an MVP campaign all but secures that status.

Pete Crow-Armstrong's MVP campaign is securing both his and Jed Hoyer's Cubs legacies

Speaking with Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, Hoyer admitted that Crow-Armstrong has exceeded all expectations in 2026, as the center fielder has finally found the offensive game plan to match his elite speed and defense.

“The defense and the baserunning (are) so special that I probably take it for granted at times,” Hoyer said. “But watching the consistency of the at-bats, that’s been an amazing transformation. A lot of coaches deserve a lot of credit. And Pete deserves the lion’s share of the credit for sticking with it.

“His decision-making in the box — I’ve never seen a player develop at this rate. This is a quantum leap in terms of his decision-making. He has a higher OPS against lefties than righties at this point."

All of those points are reflective of what has made Crow-Armstrong a shoo-in MVP candidate this year. His strikeout rate is actually up from the past two years, but he's walking significantly more than ever and producing impact outcomes more frequently when he does make contact.

His 158 wRC+ leads the National League, and were it not for Yordan Alvarez's historically great campaign, it would be the best in baseball. Of course, unlike Alvarez, Crow-Armstrong is also tremendous in the field on the basepaths, hence why he's opened up such an insurmountable lead in fWAR compared to everyone else in the league.

By all of those measures, his trade and extension are already the best moves Hoyer has ever made. Add in the fact that Crow-Armstrong set a Cubs record with two Player of the Month Awards this year -- not to mention the fact that his extension doesn't actually kick in until 2027 -- and you've got a legacy that's only just started.

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