Cubs rising star predicted to land $135M contract by sportscaster

Los Angeles Dodgers v Chicago Cubs - Source: Getty — Cubs rising star predicted to land $135M contract by sportscaster - Source: Getty

The Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers were involved in one of the most entertaining series of the 2025 MLB season this week, with Pete Crow-Armstrong grabbing the headlines with his heroics.

Chicago swept the reigning World Series winners in a nail-biting two-game series at Wrigley Field. Crow-Armstrong was sublime at the plate, registering two home runs over six hits and seven RBIs across the two games.

The Cubs' rising star caught the attention of MLB sportscaster Chris Rose, who discussed a potential contract extension for Crow-Armstrong with former infielder Trevor Plouffe on "Baseball Today."

"He reportedly turned down an extension that would have maxed out at $75 million. I think he's got his eyes on a Jackson Merrill-type deal. That's what I think," Rose said (12:05 onwards).

The San Diego Padres tied down All-Star outfielder Jackson Merrill to a nine-year, $135 million contract earlier this month. Rose believes the Cubs outfielder could merit a similar deal as he is more defensively astute than Merrill, making up for his seemingly inferior offensive output.

Rose added:

"If he puts together a full, solid season, it might not be as good as Merrill offensively, but as good as Merrill was defensively and as well as he runs the bases for a guy his size, he's not Pete Crow-Armstrong in those areas. So I don't think PCA has to get to the offensive numbers of Merrill's because of the plus plus defender and base runner that he is."

Pete Crow-Armstrong punished his hometown team in Cubs rout

Pete Crow-Armstrong put his hometown team, the Dodgers, to the sword over the last few weeks. While he sparked the Cubs' comeback with a three-run homer in the series finale on Wednesday, PCA is 10-for-22 (.455) with four homers, two doubles, one triple and nine RBIs in his last five games against the Dodgers.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is familiar with the Cubs outfielder because of his friendship with his son. Roberts reflected on PCA's performance against them and the Cubs' offense that has been on a tear this season.

“Pete Crow-Armstrong has really killed us,” Roberts said. “They're just all swinging the bats. They've pitched decent, but, yeah, they're just a much more confident team. And they're a good club. We knew that going into the season.”

Pete Crow-Armstrong is batting .294 with five home runs and 17 RBIs this season and it will be interesting to see what his contract demands look like if he has a strong 2025 season, like Jackson Merrill did last year.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash