How Pete Crow-Armstrong's 40-40 season changes our Cubs-Mets trade grade

In an effort to win a very winnable NL East division, the New York Mets traded Pete Crow-Armstrong, one of the top prospects in their organization, to the Chicago Cubs in a deal that brought Javier Baez and Trevor Williams to Flushing at the 2021 trade deadline. It goes without saying that this trade has aged as poorly as the Mets could've possibly envisioned, and Pete Crow-Armstrong stealing his 40th base, clinching him a 40-home-run, 40-stolen-base season, only proves that.

FanSided originally declared the Mets winners of this trade, giving them an A- grade while the Cubs were given a B+. Boy, have things changed since then, or what?

Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong trade regrade

At the time, this was seen as a bit of a risk. The Cubs were trading a hometown hero in Baez, who helped the team win the 2016 World Series, in exchange for a prospect who had recently undergone major shoulder surgery. He had played just six professional games prior to the trade, and while he was always seen as a potential Gold Glover in center field, his bat was far from a sure thing.

Obviously, in hindsight, this deal couldn't have aged any better for Chicago. The Cubs traded a rental in Baez in a lost year in exchange for a player who is a near lock to win the NL MVP award in his age 24 season. He's already a two-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner, and he signed an extension that'll keep him in Chicago through the 2032 campaign.

Meanwhile, Baez left the Mets after 2021 and has been a shell of himself ever since. This is not only a huge win for Chicago, but in hindsight, it's one of the most lopsided deals in recent memory. And given the trajectory Crow-Armstrong is on, the deal has the potential to sway even more in Chicago's favor.

Chicago Cubs regrade: A+

Mets' Pete Crow-Armstrong trade regrade

Just like this deal couldn't have aged much better for Chicago, it couldn't have aged much worse for the Mets. The Mets traded a player who, at the very least, will have one MVP on his ledger in exchange for a few months of Javier Baez and a year and a half of Trevor Williams. I wish I was kidding.

And it's not as if the players they got were bad by any means. Baez had one of the best stretches of his career, slashing .299/.371/.515 with nine home runs and 22 RBI in 47 games. He was walking more and getting on base more than he ever had, proving to be a real sparkplug with the Mets. Even Williams pitched well, posting a 3.17 ERA in 40 appearances across parts of two seasons with the Mets in a swingman role.

The deal made a lot of sense at the time, too. The Mets were leading a very winnable NL East division, Baez was having a good year, and again, there were real questions around PCA. It made some sense for the Mets to make a win-now move (albeit doing so with an injured Jacob deGrom made that tougher), and it made sense to trade PCA, who was objectively not considered the franchise's No. 1 prospect.

Yet, it feels like none of that even matters. Baez's heroics meant next to nothing in the standings, as the Mets went from division leaders to missing the playoffs entirely (and he didn't exactly connect well with the fan base, either). As for Williams, he was good, but again, they didn't make the playoffs in 2021 and while they made it in 2022, he didn't make an appearance, and they were eliminated in the Wild Card Series.

Had Baez and Williams won anything of note with the Mets, perhaps the grade would be higher. Had Baez and Williams stuck around for a bit longer, perhaps the grade would be higher. Unfortunately, as solid as they were on the field, the Mets parted with one of the best players in the world in exchange for a few months of Baez in a meaningless year and 1.5 years of a mostly low-leverage arm in Williams.

Again, it's one of the most lopsided deals in recent memory, and could end up being one of the two or three worst trades in Mets history.

Mets trade regrade: F

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow