The Major League Baseball Trade Deadline is on Friday and there appears to be an increasing chance that the Chicago Cubs will trade first baseman Anthony Rizzo as the team continues to replenish their farm system.
Rizzo is among several players on the Cubs’ current roster that can be moved between now and Friday at 3:00 pm CST. Rizzo may be the biggest symbol of the Cubs’ core that was responsible for winning the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians. A trade of Rizzo would certainly signal that the 2016 core is nothing more than a chapter in the past history of the Cubs’ organization.
Interest in Rizzo may have gained steam this week given the first baseman is finally showing signs of offensive life. Over the Cubs’ last 9 games, Rizzo has a slash line of .265/.375/.588 to go along with 3 home runs and 157 wRC+ (a value of 57 more runs than the average player per FanGraphs).
Rizzo had another home run on Tuesday night and energized the the fans in attendance. And, by one account at Wrigley Field during the Cubs’ loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, Rizzo could be preparing for his farewell from the Cubs’ organization.
The Chicago Cubs trading Anthony Rizzo would be the ultimate indicator that the team is ready to build a different core from the one they currently have.
While Rizzo’s father is preparing for a farewell of the Cubs’ left handed first baseman, Rizzo, himself, told Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago that he is trying to not get caught up in the rumors:
“Whatever happens is out of my control right now,” added the lefty slugger with the spiking trade value. “To speculate I’m going to go here or I’m going to go there, that’s playing the child game on our end.”
The latest rumor has Rizzo being of strong interest to the Boston Red Sox. In the aforementioned Wittenmyer report, the Cubs’ insider solidified Boston’s interest in the Cubs’ first baseman:
But sources say the interest by the Red Sox is real, if not significant, and subject at this point to the Cubs coming off what’s considered a high asking price.
The encouraging sign from Wittenmyer’s report is that the Cubs’ asking price for Rizzo is at least high enough that they aren’t simply looking to trade Rizzo for the mere fact that he is a free agent at the end of the season. The point to the Cubs’ selling is to replenish their farm system. If a team like the Red Sox is willing to meet their asking price for a player like Rizzo, then without question, a deal should be made.
Having said all that, Rizzo does not have tremendous trade value. Rizzo’s season slash line of .248/.347/.448/.795 is a far cry from his career averages. If the Cubs truly do want to maximize Rizzo’s trade value, then they would almost certainly need to bundle him with an additional players. A bundle of Rizzo and closer Craig Kimbrel would certainly net the Chicago Cubs a fruitful return of prospects.
The Chicago Cubs have games against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on Wednesday and Thursday. With that in mind, there is chance that Rizzo’s farewell includes a curtain call at Wrigley Field as he is removed from one of those games because of a trade.
