Five best moves Theo Epstein has made as Cubs president

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Oct 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (44) celebrates after hitting solo home run during the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the NLDS at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

4) Trading for Anthony Rizzo

With all of the exciting young position player talent on the Cubs’ roster last season, Rizzo sort of got lost in the shuffle and didn’t receive as much national attention as he deserves. However, Rizzo has posted numbers worthy of a superstar since coming to Chicago and came at a low price, much like Arrieta.

One of Epstein’s first moves as Cubs’ President was to deal for Rizzo in January of 2012. After trading Rizzo from the Red Sox to the San Diego Padres (where Hoyer was the GM at the time) in 2010, Epstein was able to get him back in exchange for Andrew Cashner and two minor leaguers.

Cashner has had some value to the Padres, so this wasn’t quite as lopsided as the Arrieta deal. Still, it was a clear win for Epstein, and a critical move for Chicago’s resurgence.

Rizzo struggled in his first go-around in the Majors with San Diego and was a roughly a league-average player with Chicago in 2012 and 2013. He developed into one of the best first basemen in the Majors the next season and has posted a combined 11.2 WAR over the past two years according to FanGraphs.

At just 26 years old, Rizzo should continue to be a great player for the Cubs for years to come. Rizzo might be overshadowed by Bryant and others, but his acquisition was a huge move for Epstein early in his tenure.

Next: Getting Addison Russell in the Jeff Samardzija deal

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