Just when it looked like Anthony Rizzo was headed to the Boston Red Sox their old nemesis the New York Yankees strike again. Ken Rosenthal and Jack Curry of the YES Network and other outlets are beginning to report that Anthony Rizzo is heading to the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league prospects OF Kevin Alcantara and RHP Alexander Vizcaino.
Cubs have informed Rizzo of trade to Yankees, sources tell @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 29, 2021
The Yankees are trading Alcantara and Vizcaino for Rizzo. The Cubs are picking up all of Rizzo’s remaining salary.
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) July 29, 2021
Rizzo has played 10 years of major league career in Chicago since being acquired from the Padres in 2012 in a package revolving around Andrew Cashner. The Cubs and Rizzo could not come to terms on a contract extension prior to the season and it appears there was very little conversation between the two sides during the 2021 season. What does this mean for the Cubs?
There is some speculation that this could lead the Cubs to dealing for the Padres Eric Hosmer.
There are rumbling that the #Padres, who want to unload the bulk of first baseman Eric Hosmer's contract, could now approach the #Cubs. Anthony Rizzo rejected the Cubs' 5-year, $70 million extension this spring. Hosmer has four years and $59 million remaining after this season.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 29, 2021
This seems unlikely however as the Cubs are looking to shed salary and may not have the assets needed to acquire a player like Hosmer as they try and rebuild their farm system. What is more likely is that the Cubs continue to divest themselves of assets like Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, and Craig Kimbrel to help restock their minor leagues.
Many Cubs fans are hoping that even with this deal and a possible deal for Bryant that Bryant or Rizzo may resign with the Cubs in the offseason once they hit free agency. This doesn’t seem likely, however.
This season Rizzo’s current slash line is .248/.346/.792(OPS+ of 116). For his career it is .269/.370./483(OPS+ 128). He is a three time All-Star selection, won four gold gloves, and is a 2016 World Series Champion.
Alcantara is 19 years old and hitting .360 in Rookie Ball this year through eight games. Vizcaino is 24 years old and between Rookie ball and Low-A this year has a 7.50 ERA through 6 innings of work, but is striking out 10.5 per 9 innings. Alcantara was the 9th rated prospect in the Yankees organization according to MLB.com. Vizcaino was the 9th.
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