It's official: Cubs trade Javy Baez to Mets |
WASHINGTON D.C. – The Chicago Cubs today acquired outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong from the New York Mets for infielder Javier Báez, right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams and a cash consideration.
Crow-Armstrong, 19, is ranked as the fifth-best prospect in the Mets organization by MLB.com. New York’s first round selection (19th overall) in the 2020 draft, Crow-Armstrong played six games this season with Single-A St. Lucie, hitting .417 (10-for-24) with two doubles, four RBI, two stolen bases and seven walks compared to six strikeouts prior to suffering a right shoulder injury in May. The six-foot left-handed hitter out of Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles played for the gold-medal-winning team 18-and-Under USA Team in the 2018 Pan American Championships. He was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 20 prospect heading into the 2020 Draft. Báez, 28, departs the Cubs having hit .262 (754-for-2,873) with 151 doubles, 19 triples, 140 home runs and 443 RBI in 815 games since making his major league debut in 2014. Originally selected by Chicago in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2011 draft out of Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, Fla., Báez this season hit .248 (83-for-335) with nine doubles, two triples, 22 home runs and 65 RBI in 91 games for the Cubs. Báez started the 2018 All-Star Game at second base for the N.L. squad then started the 2019 Midsummer Classic at shortstop, becoming the first player in major league history to start the All-Star Game at second base and shortstop in consecutive seasons. He was named the 2016 NLCS co-MVP with Jon Lester, won a Silver Slugger award in 2018 and in 2020 earned his first N.L. Gold Glove award. Williams, 29, signed with the Cubs this offseason and has gone 4-2 with a 5.06 ERA (33 ER/58.2 IP) in 13 games (12 starts) for Chicago. In all or part of six seasons with the Pirates (2016-20) and Cubs, Williams is 35-39 with one complete game, one shutout and a 4.49 ERA (296 ER/593.1 IP) in 119 major league games (106 starts).
