Mets fumbled ex-prospect turned All-Star candidate in 'lopsided' trade, per expert

Some may forget that Crow-Armstrong was once a member of the New York Mets' organization. However, Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly brought this back to mind in a May 12 article that was titled, 'Overachievers or Legit Contenders? Breaking Down MLB’s Biggest Surprises', and which deemed Crow-Armstrong "Legit".

"The Chicago Cubs acquired Pete Crow-Armstrong from the New York Mets prior to the 2021 trade deadline for a few months of the aforementioned Báez. That may go down as one of the most lopsided trades in modern MLB history," Kelly wrote.

"Crow-Armstrong isn't going to be an on-base machine, but he already has [10] home runs and is a basestealing threat when he does get on. PCA's best value, though, remains his tremendous work in center field. Crow-Armstrong already has nine defensive runs saved and eight outs above average, He's not only the early favorite for a Gold Glove Award in center field, but also the Platinum Glove Award as the National League's best overall defender.

"The other thing about Crow-Armstrong is that there's just a spark he provides for a team with his energy. The 23-year-old figures to be one of the faces of the Cubs for a long time to come," he added.

This trade's outcome hits especially hard because the Mets' biggest deficiency right now is in center field, which is the position where Crow-Armstrong is making a case for himself to be in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

Now, Mets fans can only imagine what their team would look like if Crow-Armstrong was manning center field.