Is a Contract Extension for Pete Crow-Armstrong Possible?

It's just a matter of him getting on base to cause that havoc. In 410 plate appearances last year, Crow-Armstrong slashed .237/.286/.384 with an 87 wRC+. Those numbers are pretty ugly, but things significantly improved in the second half, when he increased his wRC+ to 104 as opposed to 64 in the first half. 

The big question is if he can be more like the second-half version of himself at the plate over the course of a full season. But that question is exactly why a contract extension could make sense right now. The Cubs front office would be taking a gamble and betting on the 22-year-old to reach his superstar potential by increasing his salary in the short term in exchange for locking him into more years of team control. 

Crow-Armstrong said the Cubs haven't approached him about that kind of deal, likely because he is under team control for another six years, so a contract extension would probably be in the 7-9 year range. It's not the type of deal we've seen from the Cubs, but other teams like the Atlanta Braves have taken advantage of this strategy, resulting in multiple superstar players signed to team-friendly deals like Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, and Michael Harris II. 

And the Cubs payroll can certainly take the hit right now, as the front office failed to reinvest the money from Cody Bellinger's contract that was dumped to the New York Yankees in December. The Cubs are projected to be at least $30 million below the first luxury tax threshold in 2025, and a Crow-Armstrong extension would likely only increase his salary by a few million at most in the initial years. 

In addition to a short-term pay raise, as Crow-Armstrong is currently making the league minimum of $800,000 annually, he is young enough that a deal like this may not impact a future contract. He is heading into his age-23 season and depending on the structure of the deal, he could still reach free agency before his 30th birthday and potentially cash in when the time comes. 

It's certainly an idea worth exploring now because if Crow-Armstrong has a breakout season at the plate, locking him into this kind of contract will be much more difficult.