In baseball, deals from the past can hurt like a lifetime curveball, and the Mets are living that nightmare right now. One former prospect is on fire at Wrigley Field. Meanwhile, their team’s cornerstone’s contract is up in the air. What makes it worse? The Mets actually tried to undo the trade of PCA, with that same cornerstone player.

Let’s go back to 2023 and imagine the Mets call the Cubs at the trade deadline and offer one of their top prospects in exchange for PCA. And that top prospect was none other than Pete Alonso. Yup! The Cubs scoff and hang up. That’s exactly what SNY insider Andy Martino is now saying. And it makes for a shocking “what if” in Mets history.

Recently, in an Instagram post, dugoutforever shared an interesting backstory shared by SNY’s Andy Martino from 2023. Martino said, “The Mets contacted the Cubs about a potential swap involving Crow-Armstrong and Pete Alonso.” And what did the Cubs front office answered? Well, “According to league sources with direct knowledge of the situation, the call was made. The conversation was brief. The answer was no.” 

So, how did each side get to this point? The Cubs got Pete Crow-Armstrong in the same Baez trade in July 2021. PCA has long been recognized as a top defensive center fielder with a lot of talent. But he had a rough start. He missed time due to shoulder surgery and made his debut in 2023, but didn’t go as per the expectation.

On the contrary, the Mets got Alonso back in that trade. And he has been a key player in NYM ever since. So far in the 2025 season, he’s hit 21 home runs and driven in 77 runs. He was named to the All-Star team for the sixth time, indicating that he’s still the best bat in Queens.

And it gets better. Martino just talked to PCA, who didn’t sound at all resentful about leaving the Mets. “I was looking for anything good to happen,” he added, acknowledging the trade.

Well, like it or not, PCA has become an important part of the Cubs. And he recently just carved his name in the history books of the Chicago Cubs. 

PCA’s milestone month: homers, steals, and a Cubs breakout

By mid-July 2025, Pete Crow-Armstrong had hit 25 home runs and stolen 27 bases, making Wrigley Field a very exciting place to be. With a slash line of about .265/.302/.544 and being the Cubs’ best position player in WAR, he’s really changing the game in Chicago.

PCA stated, “I’ve only been humbled by the names that I’m mentioned with,” which is a modest way of saying that he is among the baseball elites.

He reached the 25-25 mark in just 92 games, making him the fourth-fastest player in MLB history to do it. He is only behind Eric Davis (69 games, 1987), Alfonso Soriano (91 games, 2002), and Bobby Bonds (91 games, 1973).

And even his teammates were happy with his performance. Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said, “Pete has so many different skill-sets and tools in his box that he can continuously tap into. It’s really, really fun to watch.” 

To put steel to the shine, he’s the only player ever to hit 25 home runs, steal 25 bases, and drive in 70 runs before the All-Star break. He is a full-blown five-tool corner-to-corner force because he has power, speed, and production.