Boston Red Sox rumors: 4 first base upgrades to target at MLB Trade Deadline
Boston Red Sox first base MLB Trade Deadline targets: Anthony Rizzo
The Chicago Cubs are listening to offers for just about the entire team, so what better time to bring Anthony Rizzo home than now?
If it takes Bobby Dalbec, the Boston Red Sox should certainly do that to bring a former No. 1 prospect back to Fenway Park. Unlike the others mentioned on this list, Rizzo checks the boxes of a first baseman and a left-handed bat in the lineup.
Drafted by the Red Sox in the 2007 MLB June Amateur Draft, Rizzo has reached All-Star status with the Cubs. This season, however, he is having a bit of a down year just like the entire Cubs team.
Batting .241 with 11 homers and 35 RBI, his numbers in 2021 don’t stand out like Aguilar, Mancini and even C.J. Con, but a change in scenery and perhaps a return to the team that drafted him may spark that All-Star level of play.
In his best seasons with the Cubs, Rizzo has averaged over 30 homers and knocked in over 100 runs on four occasions. With the lineup the Red Sox have, they don’t need him to return to All-Star form, but they do need him to be that left-handed presence in the middle of the lineup they are devoid of.
Next. Boston Red Sox: Bobby Dalbec’s potential outweighs Anthony Rizzo trade. dark
If Bloom could find a way to add the left-handed bat of Rizzo without giving up Dalbec, fine, but if it takes trading away the struggling first-baseman to solidify this team’s chances of winning a World Series, certainly pull the trigger.