Cubs make Pete Crow-Armstrong contract decision after $70 million update

The Chicago Cubs are enjoying a turnaround season after missing the playoffs last year, but they have some big decisions ahead.

First and foremost, they will have to decide how aggressively to pursue a long-term contract with Most Valuable Player candidate Kyle Tucker. After adding him via trade in his final year of arbitration eligibility, the Cubs will have to offer him $500 million or more to keep him beyond this year.

And the team is trying to lock in surging young star Pete Crow-Armstrong as well.

The Cubs put a pause on negotiations with Crow-Armstrong, who is breaking out with a .279/.313/.553 slash line and 12 homers so far. But after their offer reached as high as $70 million, the Cubs have decided to continue working on a deal, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

“The Cubs are making in-season overtures toward NL MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong after offering him between $60 million and $70 million on a long-term deal in spring,” per Heyman. “They’re obviously willing to raise their bid, however, the ask is rising exponentially with PCA exploding.”

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The Cubs were previously using the contracts of young players like Lawrence Butler, who secured $65.5 million, and Ezequiel Tovar, who secured $63.5 million, as comparisons for Crow-Armstrong, per Heyman. But his season has been so good that those comps are likely thrown out the window now.

It’s unclear just how much the Cubs might need to offer to lock Crow-Armstrong in at this point. He still has two more years before reaching arbitration eligibility. But if the Cubs want him to put a cap on his potential earnings into the near future, they might have to break the nine-figure mark.

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