CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong says settling into Chicago and becoming one of the faces of the Cubs matter more to him than the windfall from the six-year, $115 million contract the All-Star center fielder signed with the team.
“The best part is knowing that I’m here, it’s where I wanted to be,” Crow-Armstrong said at a news conference Friday. The Cubs announced the deal after Thursday’s 10-4 loss to Washington on opening day. "When I leave the field yesterday and go back to my place, and knowing this is going to be my routine for the next six-plus (years) … that’s what I’m most excited about.”
The 24-year-old Crow-Armstrong had already agreed to a one-year agreement for 2026 calling for $894,000 while playing in the majors. His new deal includes a $5 million signing bonus payable by May 15 and salaries of $10 million each in 2027, ’28 and ’29, $20 million in 2030 and $30 million apiece in 2031 and ’32. The pact also has performance bonuses.
Crow-Armstrong said his agents, led by Ryan Hamill of Creative Artists Agency, told him he might be blown away by huge contract numbers that would surface on paper once negotiations with the Cubs started in January 2025.
“They said, 'Hey you’re gonna see what it says on the sheet and you’re going to start (spinning)’ and I did,” Crow-Armstrong said.
Crow-Armstrong won a Gold Glove in 2025, his third season with the Cubs, when he batted .247 with 31 home runs, and 95 RBIs. Despite slumping at the plate after the All-Star break, the Southern California native became the first Cubs player with 30 or more homers, stolen bases (35) and doubles (37) in a season and only the second Cub after Sammy Sosa to go deep 30 or more times and swipe 30 or more bases.
Jed Hoyer, the Cubs president of baseball operations, stopped short of calling Crow-Armstrong the new face of the franchise. Yet Hoyer said the outfielder will not only help the NL Central-favorite Cubs win, but strengthen their brand and win over fans.
“He’s a top-10 selling jersey for a reason, because who his is as a person and who he is as a player." Hoyer said. “The more kids around the country, not just in Chicago … wearing Cubs uniforms the better.”
The Cubs added veteran third baseman Alex Bregman in the offseason via a $175 million, five-year contract in free agency after winning 92 games last season and then falling to Milwaukee in the NL divisional round.
Chicago also has signed second baseman Nico Hoerner, another of its three 2025 Gold Glover winners, to a six-year contract. The team has yet to formally announce the deal, marking another major commitment for the franchise, because it was pending a physical.
Crow-Armstrong, joined by his parents on Friday, embraces leading the Cubs deeper into the postseason — and to increased prominence.
“I think the national representation is important,” he said. “It's something that I’m going to take a lot of pride in being responsible for. I’ve got good people to learn from so I’m set up to succeed here."
Crow-Armstrong was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft. He was traded to the Cubs in the Javier Báez deal in July 2021, then made his major league debut in 2023, going 0 for 14 in 13 games. He struggled early in 2024 before batting .289 with seven homers and 30 RBIs in his last 57 games.
Although the Cubs didn’t draft Crow-Armstrong, Hoyer considers the outfielder a “homegrown” talent the team wants to see reach superstar status.
“I think the most important thing is this is a player we wanted to make a commitment to,” Hoyer said. “We had five years of control, but honestly felt that wasn’t enough.
“And like I said, he’s really a great person to invest in. It made sense to do this now and make sure that he was wearing a Cubs uniform for a long time.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) runs to first after bunting a one-run single during the seventh inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) points to the dugout after bunting a one-run single during the seventh inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
NEW YORK (AP) — A man accused of planning to firebomb the home of a prominent Palestinian activist has been arrested following a weekslong undercover operation led by the New York City Police Department, officials said Friday.
The target of the plot was Nerdeen Kiswani, who frequently leads protests in New York against Israel and the war in Gaza through the organization Within Our Lifetime.
Kiswani, 31, said law enforcement officials informed her late Thursday that they had disrupted “a threat on my life that was about to take place."
Federal authorities said they arrested Alexander Heifler on Thursday at his home in Hoboken, New Jersey, as he was assembling Molotov cocktails that he planned to throw at Kiswani’s home. For weeks, he had discussed the plot with an undercover NYPD detective who had infiltrated a group chat used by Heifler, according to a police department spokesperson.
An official who was briefed on the investigation said Heifler, 26, identified as a member of the JDL 613 Brotherhood, a New Jersey-based group founded in 2024 that describes its membership as “Jewish warriors” fighting back against rising antisemitism.
A website for the group says they are inspired by the original Jewish Defense League, a group linked to numerous bombings and attempted assassinations of Arab American political activists in the 1970s and 1980s.
Heifler planned to flee to Israel following the attack, according to the official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of an ongoing investigation.
An email inquiry sent to the JDL 613 was not returned.
Kiswani, who lives in Brooklyn with her infant son and husband, said the plot would not deter her continued activism.
“I feel very blessed that they were able to thwart this, but it’s something that is a constant possibility for people who speak up on behalf of Palestine,” she said.
Heifler was charged in a criminal complaint with separate counts of making and possessing destructive devices, which each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A message left with his attorney was not returned. He made an initial appearance in New Jersey federal court on Friday afternoon.
“Let me be clear: We will not tolerate violent extremism in our city,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement. “No one should face violence for their political beliefs or their advocacy. I am relieved that Nerdeen is safe.”
According to a court filing written by an FBI agent, Heifler spoke on a video call in February with a group that included an undercover detective about his interest in training for “self-defense” and wanting space where he could throw Molotov cocktails.
The next day, he met with the undercover detective in person and discussed his plan to use them against Kiswani and flee the country, according to the complaint. “We have (Kiswani's) address," Heifler allegedly told the undercover. “So it’s like that, that would be easier if you’d be more comfortable with that.”
Heifler and the undercover detective drove to Kiswani’s residence on March 4 to “conduct surveillance” and discussed making a dozen Molotov cocktails to throw at her home and two cars parked outside, the complaint said.
On Thursday, the undercover detective met Heifler at his Hoboken residence, where Heifler had assembled components to make the Molotov cocktails, including a large bottle of Everclear, a highly flammable alcohol, the complaint said. Law enforcement officers then executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered the eight Molotov cocktails, the complaint said.
Kiswani co-founded the group Within Our Lifetime, which frequently organizes protests against Israel that draw hundreds of participants and often end in arrests. The group’s calls to “abolish Zionism” and support for “all forms of struggle,” including violence, has drawn fierce criticism. Kiswani denies that her criticism of Israel amounts to antisemitism.
Kiswani has been a frequent target of online vitriol. Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, sparked backlash after writing in a social media post that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” The post was a response to a message Kiswani shared about dog owners, which she said was a light joke.
“That hate against Palestinians has been bolstered by public officials, by Zionist organizations, who are never held accountable,” she said. “This is the inevitable result of that.”
The operation was carried out by the Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism unit within the NYPD’s counterterrorism bureau, a police spokesperson said.
“This is exactly how our intelligence and counterterrorism operation is designed to work — a sophisticated apparatus built to detect danger early and prevent violence before it reaches our streets,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
This story has been corrected to reflect that the defendant’s first name is Alexander, not Andrew.
FILE - Police detain Nerdeen Kiswani, an organizer of pro-Palestinian demonstration group "Within Our Lifetime" during a protest, Friday, April. 12, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
