Chicago Cubs: New York Mets wanted PCA back, offered Pete Alonso

Did you know that the Chicago Cubs were approached by the New York Mets two years ago in an attempt to get Pete Crow-Armstrong back?

Well, that’s certainly a new one for all but the most inside of insiders.

Back at the 2021 trade deadline, the Cubs acquired Mets 2020 first round pick Crow-Armstrong for shortstop Javier Baez and pitcher Trevor Williams. But, apparently, the Mets never quite got over the loss of the young talent.

The Mets wanted PCA back

SNY MLB insider Andy Martino recently told the tale of when a repentant Mets front office tried to reacquire PCA in a trade for first baseman Pete Alonso back in 2023.

Per Martino:

“Under the Billy Epler regime, this is the trade deadline in 2023, you remember, of course, they traded Max Scherzer, and David Robertson, and Justin Verlander, and Tommy Pham. They weren’t that eager to trade Pete Alonso at that time. In fact, that got in the news a little, and that was overstated at the time…But they felt like, because of what they were doing as an organization, they owed it to themselves to at least take calls on (Pete Alonso) and see if anyone would offer something they couldn’t pass up.

They didn’t get close to anything, but in the Mets’ office, they hatched an idea that was like ‘Let’s just see.’ So they called the Cubs and said, ‘What about Pete (Crow Armstrong) for Pete (Alonso)? Send him back our way.’ Because the Cubs liked Alonso. And obviously, that’s a very short conversation … (as the Cubs shot them down).”

Wow.

Mets were reluctant to trade PCA in the first place

At the time of the trade, the Mets were not exactly eager to move Crow-Armstrong, but the team was pushing for a playoff spot and field-ready talent was needed for that push. Plus, the then-19-year-old was still recovering from shoulder surgery.

“I didn’t want to give him up, but the team deserved reinforcements at the deadline, PCA was hurt — out for the season — but we really liked him,” former New York Mets president Sandy Alderson told the New York Post.

The rest, as they say, was history. But it was a history where a lot of stars had to align and a lot of good mojo had to swirl the Cubs’ way.

For example, the Cubs hadn’t even targeted Crow-Armstrong when they began talking Baez trade with the Mets. They wanted top pitching prospect Matt Allan in the deal, but New York refused to offer him up. Mets acting GM at the time, Zack Scott, told MLB insider Ken Rosenthal that the Cubs were “mixed on PCA,” apparently because of his young age and his injury status. There was also some concern whether he’d be able to consistently hit major league pitching.

Stars aligned for Chicago Cubs in PCA trade

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer recently told Rosenthal that if PCA were healthy at the time, he might’ve been off the table.

“We were really fortunate. If he’s playing, we’re never getting him,” Hoyer said. “His defensive numbers would have been great, and they probably would have said no.”

Everything fell into place, though, and the Cubs are repeating the benefits. Meanwhile, Chicago’s initial trade target, Allan, has been sidelined with elbow injuries that required two separate surgeries and has just started pitching again at the lower levels of the Mets’ organization.

Not acquiring Alonso when he was offered in 2023, by the way, opened the door for the acquisition of Michael Busch, who is having a breakthrough year at a fraction of what Alonso would cost.

At the end of the day, the PCA-to-the-Cubs story had a fairy tale ending for the North Siders, despite the front office getting a clear shot at messing it all up in 2023.

Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-mets-pca-trade-alonso?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicago-cubs-mets-pca-trade-alonso