Rizzo to the Red Sox Becoming More Real Every Minute
Look, I don’t like it either. The Boston Red Sox have the worst production in baseball from their first basemen, and they currently have two of them on the IL. For a team that is currently 1.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East, have the best record in the American League, first base is their black hole right now.
Tampa acquired Nelson Cruz last week from the Minnesota Twins, and are in conversations to add another bat as well as some pitching. This puts some pressure on Boston, not to keep up or match the Ray’s moves, but to pad their roster to help with their push. ESPN’s Buster Olney has been on this move, and I have been suggesting the Cubs move Rizzo for a multitude of reasons as well.
“They saw Tampa Bay go out and make that big deal for Nelson Cruz to get that one hitter who is absolutely perfect in the middle of their lineup,” Olney said. “They are having a great season. They know they have Chris Sale coming back, he looks tremendous. But they could use some bullpen help, and they could use some help at first base. Anthony Rizzo checks every box.”
Is Buster suggesting Rizzo fixes their bullpen woes? Lol. Of course not, he does help improve their first base situation, and it adds a lefty bat in that lineup that has been missing production from first. What is nice for Rizzo is, he doesn’t have to be the man in Boston, like he is expected to be in Chicago. He can sit behind Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, and Alex Verdugo and just be one of the guys.
He will also likely drool over that right-field porch, and I bet have some nostalgia putting on that Red Sox shirt.
This isn’t a done deal, but there are plenty in the industry talking about it, and it seems like the discussion is heating back up. Of course, conversations, especially those leaked through the media without much action, should be taken with a grain of salt. This one, however, seems like too good of a fit for it to not have legitimate legs. Could Rizzo be dealt soon? The Magic 8-Ball says__________.
