After a big move to acquire Joey Gallo yesterday, the Yankees are continuing to be buyer at this years trade deadline. It is being reported that a deal for Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is in the works.
This spells many things for the Yankees as they’re bringing in another left-handed bat and likely means that Luke Voit is nearing the end of his Yankees tenure as more moves are likely to come!
Tweets, Anthony Rizzo player bio, and Reaction inside.
The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired INF Anthony Rizzo and cash considerations from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Alexander Vizcaíno and outfielder Kevin Alcántara. — New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 30, 2021
The Yankees are moving closer to acquiring Anthony Rizzo from the Cubs. #yankees — Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) July 29, 2021
THE TRADE LOOKS TO BE:
NYY RECEIVES: ANTHONY RIZZO (1B)
CHC RECEIVES: ALEXANDER VIZCAINO (RHP, Yankees #9 Prospect) and KEVIN ALCANTARA (OF, #12)
(Chicago is also retaining all of the remaining money on Anthony Rizzo’s 2021 contract.)
Who is Anthony Rizzo?
Anthony Rizzo is a left-handed throwing and hitting first baseman from the Chicago Cubs organization. Drafted in the 6th round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox, Rizzo has found himself trade fodder in the past. First going to the San Diego Padres in the Adrian Gonzalez deal in 2010 and then to the Chicago Cubs in 2012 for Andrew Cashner. From 2011-2012 he was considered a Top-100 prospect in the game, though that was many years ago.
Rizzo originally broke into the MLB in 2011 with the San Diego Padres and he cemented himself as an every-day player in 2013 while with the Chicago Cubs. Over his career, Rizzo has hit to a combined 269/.370/.483 (.853 OPS, 128 OPS+) triple-slash which also includes 243 HR’s, 703 RBI’s, 645 BB’s, and 917 K’s over 1357 games. Combined with solid defense that has earned him four Gold Gloves (2016, 2018-2020), Rizzo and has accumulated +36.6 bWAR in his career. While he is removed from his peak years of +5-6 bWAR, Rizzo is having another good season in 2021 season where he is currently putting up solid offensive numbers (.248/.346/.446 (.792 OPS, 116 OPS+) towards +1.5 bWAR.
Rizzo comes with as small an injury history as seemingly possible for a player with his experience, with the last time ending on the DL/IL being in 2018 with a back injury that kept him out just 10 days. He’s been very healthy and has been an every-day player for a long time.
Rizzo also comes with experience in the World Series (something that very few Yankees have) which is an important piece to a puzzle that the Yankees are looking to put together as we go into August, September, and October.
My Quick Reaction:
The Yankees are doing moves that I was hoping they’d do for a while. As I said yesterday, I’m not a big fan of the three-true outcomes philosophy that has taken over the Yankees roster/line-up construction in recent years. This is a move that will (for the rest of 2021) look to make this team much better.
The Yankees needed left-handed hitters who can get on-base, hit for a good average, and can play solid defense. They now got two of them in the past 24 hours and seem to have more moves on the way. Especially given how the Yankees are on the hook for all of $0 for Gallo and Rizzo, this means they should have the ability to go after a starting pitcher and/or a player like Trevor Story to really go all-in.
What does this mean for Luke Voit? Well, he’s likely going to be dealt in one of the those upcoming moves. I knew he’d be a prime target to trade in the offseason after leading the MLB in HR’s and hope that his injuries in 2021 haven’t totally destroyed his value. Though, he does have 3 years (arbitration) remaining on his contract.
As far as prospects being traded away, Vizcaino was faltering this year and is a 24-year-old in A+ ball. He’s at best an MLB reliever but he is a huge question mark/lottery arm. His prospect stock is good (somehow) and it was a good time to sell him.
Alcantara is an 18-year-old in rookie ball and he has a ton of potential to be a great outfielder. He was likely to move up the Yankees farm system before the end of the year in terms of ranking and level and is on some Top-100 lists, though these are the types of moves a team should make. Check back in a few years on his development, but I’m not upset on trading him either. Trades need value going both ways.
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