The New York Yankees strike again, working on a deal to acquire 1B Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs will receive prospects, Kevin Alcantara and Alexander Vizcaino in the deal. It was also reported the Cubs will pick up the remainder of Rizzo’s salary.
Rizzo will now join the third franchise of his career. He made his debut with the San Diego Padres in 2011 and has played for the Cubs since 2012. The 31-year old first baseman was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB Draft. After finalizing the Joey Gallo deal, the Yankees showed that they have not slowed down this deadline. They will continue to be a team to keep a close eye on.
The Cubs received a duo of prospects from the Yankees. Alexander Vizcaino, currently ranked number 9 on the Yankees Top Prospects List is one player headed to Chicago. The right-hander was pitching with the Yankees High-A affiliate. Through four games, he carried a 9.00 ERA and only struck out three. Vizcaino was sidelined earlier this season due to injury. He was also a part of the Yankees 40-man roster, so he will be added to Chicago’s 40-man squad.
As for Kevin Alcantara, the outfielder is ranked as the number 12 prospect in the Yankees organization. Alcantara was signed by the Yankees in July of 2018, as he is currently 19 years of age. After appearing in some rookie ball games in 2019, Alcantara returned for another year of rookie ball this season. In eight games, with 25 at-bats, Alcantara was hitting .360 with one home run and three RBI’s. It will be nice to see how he will develop with the Cubs system, with also having prospect Brennan Davis working his way to the show.
The Yankees now have a chance to make an interesting run for a spot in the postseason. The team is still in the market for starting pitching, so is this the end of Luke Voit’s tenure in the Bronx? It has been speculated that Voit could be on the move since Rizzo primarily plays first base. Voit could be enticing for the market since there are teams that lack first base depth. The Yankees will hope to land a starter in return for Voit.
Chicago Cubs are still hunting to trade some more names, with Kris Bryant and Javier Baez rumors heating up. The San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Washington Nationals, and Cincinnati Reds could all end up in the fold as possibilities to land one of Bryant or Baez. Also, the Cubs are working to move closing pitcher Craig Kimbrel as well.
But, yes. Anthony Rizzo is now a New York Yankee. With less than 24 hours left in the MLB Trade Deadline, the Cubs and Yankees are not done making moves. Who will end up benefitting from this trade in the long run?