How Cubs president Jed Hoyer persuaded Pete Crow-Armstrong to change his jersey number

MESA, Ariz. — Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made sure center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong knew he thought he needed a ‘‘fast guy’’ jersey number. No. 52 certainly didn’t qualify.

‘‘He was just talking [crap],’’ Crow-Armstrong said of Hoyer. ‘‘In a great way. He’s really good at that. He’s good at being around us, and he’s good at the mingling portion of our days. He could be upstairs, but he’s down here and interacting with us. And I always appreciated that about him.’’

Crow-Armstrong said he, shortstop Dansby Swanson and infielder Nicky Lopez were shooting around on the basketball hoop on the back patio of the Cubs’ spring-training complex earlier in camp when Hoyer came over.

‘‘He was talking smack about [how] I’m wearing a lineman’s number and all this stuff,’’ Crow-Armstrong said. ‘‘And he said if he makes a shot, I’ve got to change it. And I was like, ‘That’s fun. Why not? Let’s do it.’

‘‘It was, like, a 12-footer. I probably should have pushed him back.’’

Hoyer sank the shot, and Crow-Armstrong was on the hook for a number change. No. 4 had become available when the Cubs designated outfielder Alexander Canario for assignment to make room for corner infielder Justin Turner on the 40-man roster.

Before Crow-Armstrong debuted his new number Friday, his hair generated buzz on social media. Last spring, he dyed his hair blue. This year, it’s bleach blond with blue stars.

‘‘I think he looks great,’’ second baseman Nico Hoerner said last week. ‘‘He plays the game with confidence and swagger. And I think it would be easy to criticize if it didn’t feel genuine, but it’s who he is; it’s how he lives his life. And all that energy and excitement you see is the same energy he pours into us as teammates and into winning games.

‘‘And if it was an energy that was selfish or just about social media or something stupid, then that’d be one thing. But Pete’s here every day for the group and for all of us, and he has fun and plays the game hard and plays to win. And it’s everything you can ask for from a teammate.’’

Crow-Armstrong said his mom shared those comments from Hoerner with him.

‘‘That’s a guy that I do look up to,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m just glad that I’ve shown my teammates and earned their trust to be able to do things like that and not take away from what really matters. Because that’s why I’m here: I’m here to go catch baseballs in center field and produce offensively as best as I can.’’

Caissie offers timeline

Outfield prospect Owen Caissie (mild to moderate strain of left adductor) told the Sun-Times he expects to begin strength and mobility exercises in a couple of days, but he likely won’t resume baseball activities for a couple of weeks. He was injured last week and had an MRI exam Thursday.

‘‘When I did it, I was pretty bummed,’’ Caissie said. ‘‘I was like, ‘Ah, crap, I won’t be able to play right away, won’t be able to do [live batting practice] or anything like that.’ ’’

He also realizes the timing could have been worse.

‘‘This is the time to do it,’’ he said. ‘‘Imagine doing this at the start of the season.’’

Caissie is coming off offseason surgery for a sports hernia. He said he first felt the injury after beating out a chopper July 4 of last season.

‘‘I felt like my insides kind of ripped apart,’’ he said.

He took a couple of weeks off, then played through the discomfort for the rest of the season before having surgery in October.

Shaw update

Third baseman Matt Shaw (strained left oblique) is scheduled to move to hitting on the field and making throws during fielding practice, manager Craig Counsell said. He had resumed hitting in the cage and playing catch earlier this week.

Cubs 7, White Sox 3

Cubs prospect Kevin Alcántara showed off his speed in the second inning, scoring from first on Michael Busch’s single. Alcántara evaded the wild throw home and circled back to touch home plate. And as he stomped on it, he made the “safe” gesture with his arms. It was a highlight of the Cubs offense’s five-run inning.

• Cubs starter Justin Steele pitched two shutout innings, limiting the White Sox to two hits and recording five strikeouts.
• Third baseman Ben Cowles, who the Cubs acquired from the Yankees as part of the Mark Leiter Jr. trade last July, went 2-for-3 with a solo homer.
• On deck: Rangers at Cubs, 2:05 p.m. Sunday, Mesa, Marquee, Cody Bradford vs. Colin Rea.