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The 2021 trade between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets that sent top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong to Chicago in exchange for All-Star shortstop Javier Baez has come full circle in one of the most unexpected ways.
Four years later, both players will start in center field for their respective leagues at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta, an outcome nobody could have predicted.
At the time of the trade, Crow-Armstrong was a promising minor league outfielder, while Baez was a two-time All-Star shortstop helping the Mets chase a postseason berth. Baez would later sign a major free agent contract with the Detroit Tigers, but his first few seasons in Detroit were poor. He struggled at the plate and eventually underwent hip surgery in 2024.
By 2025, Javier Baez has written one of the most surprising comeback stories in baseball. After a wave of injuries wiped out the Tigers’ outfield, losing Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling, and Wenceel Perez, Baez transitioned to center field, a position he had never played in the majors.
In 33 games out there, Baez has been a defensive asset, earning high marks from Statcast for his above-average play. But it’s not only the glove, he’s brought the bat back too. Through 71 games, he’s hitting .285 with a .323 on-base percentage and a .460 slugging percentage, tallying nine homers, 36 RBIs, and a 2.2 WAR.
His bounce-back season earned him an All-Star nod, and with it, a place in the history books. Baez is now the first player to ever start the All-Star Game at second base (2018), shortstop (2019), and in the outfield (2025). He is just the fourth to start the Midsummer Classic at three different positions, a distinction shared only with legends like Pete Rose, Albert Pujols, and Harmon Killebrew.
On the other side of the trade, 23-year-old Pete Crow-Armstrong has blossomed into one of the National League’s most complete players. After a modest debut in 2024, he exploded in 2025, earning his first All-Star starting nod alongside Cubs teammate Kyle Tucker and Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr.
Crow-Armstrong has posted 4.0 fWAR, tied for second in the NL behind Shohei Ohtani (4.4), and is one of just four MLB players with at least 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases, joining Tucker, Oneil Cruz, and Elly De La Cruz. Known for his elite defense and speed, PCA has also added surprising power to his game, helping the Cubs climb to the top of the NL Central.
Tucker and Crow-Armstrong are the first Cubs duo to start an All-Star Game together in the outfield since 1936 (Frank Demaree and Augie Galan) and the first Cubs teammates at any position to start since 2019, when Baez himself started alongside Willson Contreras.
