Chicago Cubs 23-year-old outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong entered himself into the 2025 NL MVP Award conversation during the first few months of the 2025 season. He seemed like he was hitting home runs every game, stealing bases at will, and playing some of the best outfield defense the sport had seen in a long time.

Cubs fans know that PCA, unfortunately, couldn’t sustain this success throughout the entire season. He hit .216 with a .634 OPS and six home runs after the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, and was one of baseball’s coldest hitters for a several-week stretch in the summer.

Despite coming back down to earth, so to speak. PCA still produced a great first full season in the big leagues, which is shown by his .768 OPS, 31 home runs, 95 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases, while also winning an NL Gold Glove Award for his excellent work in center field. This is why fans expect PCA to blossom into a full-fledged superstar during the 2026 season.

Pete Crow-Armstrong Sends Message About Edward Cabrera

Pete Crow-Armstrong was interviewed by Ben Verlander during the Gold Glove Award ceremony in New York last week and was asked about the toughest pitcher he has faced in MLB thus far.

“Chris Sale is up there. That’s not very fun. I think it’s pretty uncomfortable.” PCA said, per an X post from Verlander.

“The sneaky ones, Ronny Henriquez, he’s a reliever on the Marlins. Him and Edward Cabrera both put balls off my back leg that I swung at,” he added.

PCA mentioning Edward Cabrera as a particularly tough at-bat is fascinating, given that a November 14 article from Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic noted that the Cubs showed interest in trading for Cabrera at last season’s trade deadline, and could very well be interested in trading for him again this winter.

PCA was alluding to the one game he had faced Cabrera in his career, which came on May 19. In the first inning, Crow-Armstrong swung on a two-strike slider from Cabrera that ended up hitting him on the thigh. It was called a strikeout because PCA clearly went around.

PCA went 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts against Cabrera in that contest.

The 27-year-old Cabrera produced an 8-7 record with a 3.53 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 137.2 innings pitched (26 starts) in 2025. Not only would PCA’s hopes of having a great 2026 campaign improve if he doesn’t have to face Cabrera, but the Cubs’ chances of success would also likely improve if he were on their roster.