MESA, Ariz. — Pete Crow-Armstrong watched and listened closely to Cody Bellinger last year when he went through his spring training with the Chicago Cubs.
“Being with Cody was cool in itself,” he said Tuesday morning at camp. “We had a different kind of relationship before we were on the same field together. He showed me he was there to look out for me and be there if I needed him, and he’s only continued to uphold that.
“I’m sure that all these conversations we had when I was up there contributed to a lot of the work I did this offseason.”
The lessons learned should help Crow-Armstrong as the Cubs’ top prospect attempts to prove himself in the major leagues. But the signing of Bellinger to a three-year, $80 million deal with two opt-outs also could ensure Crow-Armstrong starts the season at Triple-A Iowa.
Cubs President Jed Hoyer declined to address the move when meeting with the media before Tuesday’s game, as the deal wasn’t finalized until later in the day. Hoyer cleared space for Bellinger on the 40-man roster Tuesday by dealing left-handed pitching prospect Bailey Horn to the White Sox for another young pitcher, Matthew Thompson.
The Bellinger signing caps an offseason that saw Hoyer succeed in getting the things he coveted — a high-leverage reliever in Héctor Neris; a potential top-of-the-rotation left-handed starter in Shota Imanaga; a young, left-handed bat in Michael Busch; and the return of a left-handed power bat and versatile fielder in Bellinger.
It probably wasn’t the way Hoyer would’ve drawn it up, but in the end, he accomplished his two main goals — improving the team and staying under the luxury tax. Hiring manager Craig Counsell to finish the job that David Ross couldn’t was an unexpected bonus.
“I feel really good about it,” Hoyer said about his offseason moves. “And obviously we ended up with one of the best managers in the game. I feel good about the offseason. It certainly didn’t play out as we all thought. I didn’t expect to be getting mocked in early January for being inactive, but …”
Hoyer laughed when he said that, but there was some truth to it. Patience is a virtue and one that many Cubs fans lack.
The Cubs’ roster is far from set, but Alexander Canario appears to have a leg up as a reserve outfielder, joining Mike Tauchman. Busch, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers, should share time with Bellinger and Patrick Wisdom at first base.
That doesn’t mean Crow-Armstrong can’t make the opening day roster, but it decreases the odds.
“Look, we’re going to keep trying to make the team better,” Counsell said. “And it’s harder to be on a good team as a player, and that’s how it should be. You have to earn it, and that’s how you should always want it to be, that it’s a tough environment and you’ve got to earn at-bats.
“Not just for someone like PCA, but also for some older player who maybe has had some at-bats here for a while … So that’s how it should be. From PCA’s perspective, he’s what, 21? A college senior. There is a ton of baseball in front of him.”
Crow-Armstrong made his major-league debut Sept. 11 in Colorado and got his first start the next day, making two sensational catches in center in spacious Coors Field. But with the Cubs in a heated wild-card race, he was rarely used by Ross, except as a defensive replacement or base runner. He wound up hitless in 14 at-bats.
Crow-Armstrong said his approach this spring is no different than last year, though there were no expectations of him making the team in 2023.
“It’s just baseball,” he said. “That’s what we’re all here to do. It’s different from the start with (Counsell) versus Rossy, but that’s expected. They’re different people, and there are some new faces this year but for the most part it’s very nice coming back to the same kind of core. And now that Cody is back, having him back. So no, nothing is different. Just another opportunity for me to watch the best do what they do.”
Surely having a shot at making the team makes this camp a bit different?
“No,” he replied. “The goal is still just to improve. I’ve got the people in front of me that are here to show me how to do things and get better, and if my chances to make the team this year are a little greater than last year, it’s not something in the forefront of my mind at all.”
Neither was the 0-for-14, an anomaly for a hitter who has a .301 average and .892 OPS in three minor-league seasons in the New York Mets and Cubs organizations.
“Fourteen at-bats,” he said. “It’s nothing.”
Crow-Armstrong said he learned from his September call-up that preparation is “arguably the most important part of my day.” Base running, positioning in the outfield and other things that will become second nature with experience were part of the education.
“There is just so much that goes into being a successful big leaguer from what I’ve seen,” he said. “I know where the areas are that I could use a little bit more.”
The confidence is obviously there, and the support from his teammates and Cubs management should go a long way toward helping Crow-Armstrong translate that minor-league success to the big leagues.
His time will come, sooner rather than later. He did hit the game-tying RBI double in the bottom of the ninth on Tuesday.
“If I was Michael Busch, I’d say ‘I’m ready for the big leagues,’” Counsell said. “But from PCA’s perspective, he has things to prove. And that’s his job, to kind of prove it to us and beat down the door and tell us: ‘I belong here and you can’t play a game without me.’”
