(670 The Score) Cubs shortstop Javier Baez has received his wish to play with a good friend.
The Cubs on Friday traded Baez and right-hander Trevor Williams as well as cash consideration to the New York Mets in exchange for Class-A outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, the teams announced.
In New York, Baez will fill the void of injured Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who’s expected to be out until late August or so. Once Lindor is healthy, Baez is expected to shift to second base. The two have a strong relationship and played together for their native Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic in 2017. Recently, Baez again expressed his desire to play with Lindor.
“I loved playing with him in the World (Baseball) Classic," Baez said earlier this week. "It is the only option I would take to play second base if it is to play with him, otherwise I stay playing at shortstop.”
Baez, 28, is hitting .248 with 22 homers, 65 RBIs and a .775 OPS in 91 games this season. He has also struck out a National League-worst 131 times entering play Friday. He’s a two-time All-Star and one-time Gold Glove winner who had spent all eight of his MLB seasons in Chicago.
Williams, 29, is 4-2 with a 5.06 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 13 games, including 12 starts, in 2021.
The Mets selected Crow-Armstrong with the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft. He was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Mets' system, per MLB Pipeline. Crow-Armstrong hit .417 with a 1.063 OPS in six games at low Class-A St. Lucie this season before being sidelined by a serious right shoulder injury, which necessitated surgery. He was diagnosed with a glenoid labral articular disruption lesion, the New York Post reported. Crow-Armstrong bats and throws left-handed.
Baez and Williams are joining a Mets team that leads the NL East at 54-47 entering play Friday. The Phillies sit in second place in the division, 3.5 games behind.
Baez is set to be a free agent at season’s end. On multiple occasions, he had expressed a desire to remain in Chicago, but he and the Cubs couldn’t come to an extension agreement, making him expendable in management’s eyes as the trade deadline arrived.