The MLB announced the finalists for the NL MVP Award on Monday. No surprises: the nominees are as expected. It confirmed how much impact they had on their respective teams, but one candidate will almost surely be the unanimous winner this season.

And he wears Cubbie blue.

Pete Crow-Armstrong Had a Once-in-a-Lifetime Season

The three finalists for the NL MVP award are Brice Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs. After the stellar season Crow-Armstrong had, you knew the accolades would start to pile on. It began with his second consecutive Gold Glove Award. His elite skills were the main reason the Cubs had the league's best defense. 

With that said, let’s remember that the Cubs would not have had the season they had without Crow-Armstrong’s phenomenal 40-40 year at the plate. Only seven players in baseball history have ever achieved that kind of glory. And Crow-Armstrong did it in his age-24 season! This is a big reason why he also earned the MLBPA's NL Outstanding Player Award and the Player of the Year Award.

If he can accomplish such phenomenal feats in only his third true MLB season, imagine what else he can do in the years to come. They signed him to a massive 6-year, $115 million contract. Nevertheless, even with his magical campaign, it just goes to show you that the Cubs still have a lot of work to do to get to the promised land.

Indeed, the Cubs can't waste any future seasons that even sniff what Crow-Armstrong did in 2026. They must put the right pieces around him to take full advantage of his skill set. It’ll obviously take more than just Crow-Armstrong to make a strong push to the World Series. For the team this offseason, that mainly means adding the right pieces to the bullpen and starting rotation.

At the same time, Crow-Armstrong does currently need two outfield partners. It was nice to have two Gold Glove-caliber players in Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki. That might not be the case anymore. Regardless, Crow-Armstrong is and was the best defender, and having that help in the corner outfield spots is huge! There is a lot of work to do, but having the kind of player who is a threat to win the MVP is a fantastic building block.

Speaking of which, the official MVP announcement will be made on November 12 at 6:00 p.m. CT.

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