MLB Rumors: Red Sox engaged in preliminary talks to acquire Anthony Rizzo
By Josh Hill
MLB trade rumors linking the Boston Red Sox to Anthony Rizzo are picking up steam according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
As the MLB trade deadline approaches, the heat is starting to get turned up on the hot stove.
The Chicago Cubs are the most popular team slated to be sellers at the deadline, as it appears the World Series core is available at the best price offered. Kris Bryant is dominating the rumor cycle, but rumors surrounding first baseman Anthony Rizzo are starting to pick up steam.
On his podcast this week, ESPN’s Buster Olney openly pondered how perfect a fit the Boston Red Sox are for Rizzo. While Tim Kirkjiuan shot that idea down, Jeff Passan has circled back around with a report that talks between the Red Sox and Cubs have indeed taken place.
According to Passan, the talks are in the preliminary stage but they are happening.
"And yet the Cubs have at least had preliminary conversations with Boston about a deal for Rizzo, according to sources, as Boston has the worst first-base production of any team in baseball this season"
The MLB trade deadline passes on Friday afternoon, so there’s plenty of time to iron out a deal that returns Rizzo to where his career started back in 2007.
Rizzo was originally drafted by the Red Sox that year, but was traded to the San Deigo Padres as part of the blockbuster Adrian Gonzalez deal a few years later. He then landed in Chicago with Theo Epstein where he has since become a Cubs legend.
As the Cubs prepare to potentially gut a core that won the franchise its first World Series in over a century, Rizzo appears to be on the move once more.
Landing in Boston is an ideal spot. The Red Sox are desperate for a first baseman who can hit, and the left-handed slugger checks those boxes and more. He’d bring a veteran presence to a World Series contender, not to mention the experience of having made a World Series run in the recent past.