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Tenth is the series. Today we look at the Cubs’ young center fielder.

Peter Henry Crow-Armstrong, the first-round pick of the New York Mets in 2020, came on like gangbusters in the first half of 2025. His act flagged badly toward the end, but he turned in a marvelous season that raises expectations and anxieties about his 2026 campaign.

He needs to improve his in-zone contact some, stop swinging at so many bad pitches, and use his considerable bat speed and hand-eye coordination to make better-quality contact. Fans hope that he can learn a little more patience at the plate, and all of the above point to him not getting himself out. Travis Sawchik had a good piece about that, also appearing in Cub Tracks.

The guy’s already a star. Really, given the hype and the hope, he was a star before he got to the majors, and his skills and considerable charisma have served him well so far. He can do things nobody else can.

Some consistency would be infinitely desirable. Maybe a couple of Ian Happ specials rather than a whole second half? Hmm. A season of that and the same numbers or better, and we’re talking about a superstar.

His stellar defense props up his WAR numbers. BBRef has him at 8.1 bWAR, with PCA having amassed 6.0 of that total in 2025, and Fangraphs submits a 7.8 fWAR lifetime total, with 5.4 coming last year, but it isn’t all about his defense. PCA turned in a spectacular 2025. Most projections have him sacrificing some power and maintaining his RBI total, with the aggregate something like 25 HR/85+ RBI in their sights.

Certainly we could all live with that, without the post All-Star Game dropoff.

I’ve long thought that he was just tired, and could use a little more rest. Maybe Kevin Alcántara or Dylan Carlson, depending on who wins that competition, could spell Pete against tough lefties or once a week, and give him a breather, and the Cubs won’t lose so much at the plate or defensively.

Let’s hope for a happier ending.

The 2013 New York Yankees finished the season 85-77, good for third place in the American League East and on the outside looking in at the playoffs when the regular season concluded. Their “leaderboard” is a veritable who’s who of guys who certainly played in the major leagues. 36-year-old’s Travis Hafner and Lyle Overbay, 34-year-old Vernon Wells, and -1.5 bWAR (seriously!) Eduardo Núñez are among the names you’d see penciled into the lineup most nights.

Catcher, like much of the Yankee lineup, was an offensive black hole. Chris Stewart, Austin Romine, and John Ryan Murphy combined to provide basically nothing after Francisco Cervelli went down with a broken hand in late April. Cervelli, who was off to a torrid start at the plate (141 OPS+) later hurt himself rehabbing while also getting swept up in the Biogenesis brouhaha, missing the remainder of the season due to injury and suspension. As 2014 approached, it’s fair to say catcher was a position in flux.

Brian McCann
Signing Date: December 3, 2013
Contract: 5 years, $85 million

It’s funny how time plays tricks on memory. When I sat down to write this, I remembered the Yankees signing McCann after Robinson Canó jilted them for more years and more money with the Seattle Mariners. In my mind’s eye, McCann was part of a pivot that involved Hall of Famer Carlos Beltrán and former BoSox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

That was not the case. The Yankees signed McCann and Ellsbury before knowing for certain they were not going to be able to retain their all-world second baseman. That said, they definitely had reason to be pessimistic Robbie would remain in pinstripes after word leaked in mid-November that he wanted a 10-year deal worth $310 million.

McCann entered free agency with an excellent pedigree (albeit while also being a bit of a hardass at times). A seven-time All-Star and winner of five Silver Slugger Awards behind the plate with the Atlanta Braves, McCann put up a 117 OPS+ with 176 bombs in his first nine seasons from 2005-13, making for a remarkably consistent 20-plus homer bat. Meanwhile, as he matured behind the plate, he gained a reputation as one of baseball’s finest pitch framers.

The combination of offensive prowess, defensive skill, and leadership was enough that McCann was expected to command serious money in free agency. Indeed, some expected him to break nine figures with at least a six-year commitment from whoever signed him.

Ultimately, McCann did not quite hit those figures. But he certainly did well for himself, getting $85 million over five years from the Yankees.

On the surface, it looked like the Yankees had answer their question at catcher for the next half-decade. Even then though, there were warning signs.

McCann entered free agency having played the least number of games over the previous two seasons since he became a full-time player. Worse, while he bounced back in 2013, his bat disappeared in 2012.

In late October, Benjamin Hoffman warned in the New York Times about the potential downside of a McCann signing, writing that “given his position, his recent decline in durability and an expected drop in production as he enters his 30s, he appears to be the most likely of this off-season’s big-ticket free agents to end up becoming an albatross for the team that signs him.”

Hoffman’s prediction did not quite come to pass, though McCann never approached his previous offensive heights with the Yankees (or after his tenure in New York, for that matter). His bat hovered around league average for his three seasons in pinstripes. Combined with his defense and positional value, by FanGraphs WAR he compiled roughly 8.0 fWAR over his three seasons in the Bronx. And he did have his moments.

Meanwhile, the Yankees continued to flirt with mediocrity. In McCann’s three seasons in the Bronx, the club never won more than 87 games, which they managed in 2015. That year, they made the playoffs only to lose the American League Wild Card Game to soon-to-be mortal enemies the Houston Astros. Four pitchers combined to shut the Yankees out 3-0. For his part, McCann went 0-for-4 in his only playoff game as a Yankee.

2016 saw the electrifying emergence of Gary Sánchez, who clubbed 20 home runs and finished second in AL Rookie of Year voting despite only playing 53 games. With “The Kraken” in the Bronx, McCann realized his time as the Yankees’ main catcher had come to an end and he asked for a trade.

The Yankee front office accommodated his request, and during the offseason dealt McCann to the aforementioned Astros for a pair of pitching prospects, Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman. Because no good dead goes unpunished, McCann came back to haunt the Yankees.

Through the first six games of the 2017 ALCS, Yankee pitching kept their former backstop in check. But in Game 7, back in Houston, McCann broke the Yankees’ backs. Already trailing 2-0 after an Evan Gattis home run the previous inning and a Jose Altuve dinger earlier in the fifth, McCann came to the plate, facing Tommy Kahnle, who’d replaced starter CC Sabathia. Needing one out to escape the frame and with McCann down to his final strike, Kahnle instead surrendered a two-run double that extended the Astros lead to 4-0. On a night when Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers Jr. combined to throw a three-hit shutout, that was more than enough.

For whatever it’s worth, McCann was not thrilled with the Astros’ infamous sign-stealing scheme and tried to push back on it with fellow veteran and former Yankees teammate Carlos Beltrán. Longtime friend and catcher Evan Gattis also noted McCann’s discomfort:

“I could tell it was eating him up,” Gattis said. “He didn’t like it one bit. … He’s played so long, and he just understands what it takes to get to the big leagues, and he’s got a lot of respect for ballplayers. You could just tell (he was opposed to the cheating).”

This does not fully exonerate McCann, as he still benefitted from the whole endeavor and it’s not as though his 2017 at-bats were completely devoid of “bangs.” How angry should you be about McCann being on those 2017 Astros? That’s really a question that you can only answer yoruself.

As it stood, McCann won his first and only World Series that year and played two more seasons before retiring, fittingly, as an Atlanta Brave. In his first year on the ballot for the Hall of Fame, McCann received only seven votes (1.8%), falling off future ballots.

But make no mistake. He was a Hall of Very Good catcher and the Yankees have made far worse free agent signings over the years.

References

Brian McCann. Baseball-Reference.

Hoch, Bryan. “Yanks deal McCann to Astros for pitching prospects.” MLB. November 17, 2016.

Hoffman, Benjamin. “With Gritty Slugger Brian McCann, It’s Buyer Beware.” New York Times. October 31, 2013.

Jaffe, Jay. “JAWS and the 2025 Hall of Fame Ballot: Brian McCann.” FanGraphs. December 20, 2024.

Waldstein, David. “How Yanks May Proceed, Cano or No Cano.” New York Times. December 4, 2013.

Waldstein, David. “Yankees Set to Resume Cano Negotiations, With Sides Still Far Apart.” New York Times. November 18, 2013.

See more of the “50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agent Signings in 50 Years” series here.

We’re trying a new series at Royals Review, a daily mid-day question of the day to hear about your opinions on a fun or pressing question affecting the Royals or baseball in general. Chime in and drop your answers below!

News broke late last night that the Tigers had signed the best remaining free agent, Framber Valdez, to a hefty three-year deal worth $115 million. There’s some concern that this signals the Tigers’ intention to trade away Tarik Skubal, but if they’re going to have both lefties in their rotation, they just became much more formidable. Prior to the move, the Tigers and Royals were seen as about even in their odds to win the division, and it seemed reasonable for the Royals to potentially go into the season without making another move to improve their roster, wait to see how Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen do, and then potentially load up at the deadline. That now seems like a much riskier choice.

One initial reaction from a fellow RR writer was that the Royals should really go get the lefty-mashing Miguel Andujar, but he was signed a few minutes later to the Padres on a one-year/$4 million deal. With Austin Hays and Harrison Bader getting signed last week, free-agent, right-handed-hitting outfielders have essentially gone extinct.

I threw together this trade idea last night in response to the moves:

Do the Royals need to make a trade? Or is there a free agent out there you’d still be interested in? Or would you be OK if the Royals continued to wait for the opportune moment to strike?

The Royals announced they have brought back catcher Luke Maile on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Maile appeared in 25 games with the Royals last year, hitting .244/.346/.356 with one home run in 54 plate appearances.

The 34-year-old has played in parts of ten seasons in the big leagues with the Rays, Blue Jays, Brewers, Guardians, and Reds. In 458 career MLB games, he is a lifetime. 209/.277/.320 hitter. Maile is a very solid defensive backstop who has thrown out nearly 30 percent of base-stealing attempts in his career. Last year he excelled in pitch framing metrics.

The Royals had previously signed MLB veteran Jorge Alfaro, who has produced more with the bat over his career, to a minor league deal. The team will likely have Salvador Perez split time behind the plate with rookie Carter Jensen most of the time. But the team may carry a third catcher for the days Salvy is at first base or DH, as they often did last year when Maile was on the team.

Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is more than happy to welcome another top-tier left-hander to the team's starting rotation, even if newly signed free agent Framber Valdez will be making a little more money this season than the two-time reigning AL Cy Young award winner.

"Dinners on you," Skubal said in a post on his Instagram story shortly after the Valdez signed his three-year, $115 million deal with the Tigers.

Skubal is in for a pretty sizable payday himself, with his salary arbitration hearing decision expected to be resolved this week.  He's seeking $32 million for the upcoming season while the Tigers have countered at $19 million.

The signing gives Detroit arguably the best 1-2 combination at the top of the rotation in the American League. But there's still a question of how long they'll be on the roster together.

Skubal is a free agent at the end of the 2026 season, and the money the Tigers paid to land Valdez could be a sign they expect him to take over the No. 1 starter role if Skubal leaves.

For now though, Tigers fans can relish the idea of both pitchers carrying the team toward a possible World Series appearance.

And the two lefties can look forward to an enjoyable − and likely very expensive − meal together.

Unlike in movies, in real life, the hero doesn’t always triumph over adversity in the end, and even when he does, it might not happen as neatly as one would have hoped to build the perfect storyline. No matter how you slice it, Clayton Kershaw’s postseason career has been one of primarily heartbreak, but we mustn’t let it overshadow its finest moments, of which there were plenty, definitely far more than he gets credit for. Here’s an intro to a series of articles that’ll break down specific memorable Kershaw performances in the postseason that might not debunk his narrative of woes in October but at least add some perspective to it.

On a very basic level, all those shortcomings became irrelevant the moment Kershaw won his first ring in 2020 might reasonably be pointed out. The future Hall of Famer also later went on to be involved in two other championship teams, with minimal roles — injured in 2024, and coming out of the bullpen last season. As fulfilling as those rings likely were, Kershaw, the individual, won them at a different stage in his career. By the time he reached the mountain top for the first time, however impactful and crucial he still was in 2020, the narrative had basically been set in stone, and he was no longer at or particularly near the height of his powers.

Sadly, missing a few postseasons at his prime as the Dodgers as an organization had yet to truly take off, particularly so once the new ownership group really established itself, Kershaw still got plenty of opportunities to be the leading man on a postseason team. Time and time again, those opportunities with rays of hope on different levels ultimately met the same bitter end, oftentimes with the southpaw undone by the lack of support that became pivotal to World Series wins in later years. Certain remarks and a more meticulous evaluation aren’t the specialty of the common fan, and thus, the simplest explanation is the commonly accepted one — Kershaw couldn’t get it done in the playoffs.

Anyone taking a journey back through those playoff runs of the middle to late 2010s will quickly recognize a second theme emerging right next to that of eventual eliminations. Without fail and with teams that in no way resembled the current powerhouses the Dodgers can routinely send out there for a postseason run, Kershaw found a way to deliver magnificent outings that rank alongside the very best in the 21st century, not just among Dodger starters but all of baseball.

Another overlooked element is one to which Kershaw was one of the pioneers, alongside the likes of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, that of prolonged exposure to the postseason setting due to an ever-expanding postseason bracket. Out of the three, Kershaw is easily the one who suffered the most in the playoffs, which is justifiable given that this narrative is in no way built around a house of cards, something we’ve already established. Still, it’s no wonder all three of these Hall of Fame starters have postseason ERAs significantly over their regular-season numbers.

As was the case with Kershaw and the other two, those numbers overshadow many instances in which these elite pitchers delivered at the highest possible level on the biggest stage against the toughest opponents. Here we’ll comb through some of the greatest Kershaw postseason performances and the context around those games.