Remember when the Chicago Cubs were going through one of the most difficult periods in their history in 2014? They landed Javier Baez only to find him struggling massively, ranking fifth in fWAR among every other player. And then came a former New York Mets star as a saviour during the 2021 trade deadline, who was traded by the former Mets GM at that time for the infielder Javier Baez. It’s been four years since then and now the former GM, Zack Scott, finally breaks silence on the bizarre reason behind the trade.

Now, after the Mets hosted the Cubs over the weekend, a lot of memories came back revolving around the trade that happened during the 2021 deadline. The Mets were looking to make it to the playoffs and felt that they needed to part ways with their 19-year-old prospect, Pete Crow-Armstrong, in exchange for Javier Baez. The reason was that Scott thought PCA wasn’t a good hitter and right now he’s making batting records with the Cubs. Now the deal is being scrutinized and yes, Zack Scott regrets the decision, too.

And why not?

Stressing the decision to let go of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Scott bluntly said, “I think people forget we were in the first place at the time. We wanted to add some impact to the lineup.” Well, honestly, Scott’s got a point. The Mets were going 55-48 on July 30, 2021, and they had a four-game lead in the NL East. But despite holding first place for more than a hundred days, they dropped to third place, finishing with a 77-85 record and, most importantly, couldn’t make it to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, the move by Zack Scott didn’t pay off. He was thinking of the “impact” that Baez could bring for the Mets, considering that he joined alongside Francisco Lindor, who was his close friend since childhood. Although he batted at an average of .299 with a .371 OBP and a .515 OPS while producing 2.1 fWAR, Baez played only 47 games until signing with the Detroit Tigers, leaving the Mets with a big infield gap in their lineup.

Justifying the trade further, Scott said, “The problem was that I came from Boston, where we didn’t really—we weren’t that high on Pete Crow-Armstrong in the draft.” That’s why he had a “bias” there, but yes, Scott praised his defense, speed, and makeup. But somewhere, he felt that the power he expected was missing, which led to making the final call.

However, Pete Crow-Armstrong has emerged as a beacon of hope for the Chicago Cubs, and they must be happy about the trade being successful.

Former MLB GM’s giveaway player has turned into a superstar for the Chicago Cubs

While Zack Scott cannot deny that it was a mistake letting Pete Crow-Armstrong go away, it’s all set and done now. Crow-Armstrong has been displaying his exceptional talent in 2025. He is not just one of the center fielders who has managed to post 11 home runs this season and 30 RBIs but also has a slugging percentage of .545. But that’s not all!

Armstrong’s fielding run value is +10, which is currently the best among all the position players in baseball. While the Mets might be regretting the decision they made in 2021, Armstrong continues to excel. In the Cubs’ 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox at Wrigley Field, PCA managed a triple off his White Sox counterpart. He even scored on a sacrifice fly of Seiya Suzuki and later went for a double, helping his team to acquire a clean sweep against the White Sox.

“I think that’s just who I am. You don’t really have those moments where you really think about how you’re going to react to a double or triple or anything like that. Nothing about this stuff is planned. I think baseball brings it out of all of us. It’s about the sport,” the 23-year-old said. He has understood his role quite well and the Cubs management has always stood by his side, which acted as a learning curve in his success.

Hopefully, it’s just the start for Pete Crow-Armstrong, as he will hopefully look to create more records in the upcoming times. However, do you think letting PCA go away was a big miss by the Mets?