During the lead-up to July’s trade deadline, most of the talk surrounding Anthony Rizzo had him pegged to be dealt to the Red Sox.
Instead, the Yankees swooped in and pulled off a double-barreled move by acquiring Rizzo from the Cubs to provide a boost at first base while also keeping him away from their rivals.
The Red Sox countered by trading for an injured Cubs outfielder — but Kyle Schwarber has been much more than that.
How those trades played out, and possibly altered the playoff race, will reenter the spotlight this weekend as the two former Cubs try to get their respective teams closer to clinching an AL wild-card spot at Fenway Park.
“I’m glad [Rizzo is] on our side and looking forward to seeing what he’s going to do for us here these final nine games,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game.
While Rizzo looked like a coup early, Schwarber had been the more valuable player entering the weekend — recording 1.0 Wins Above Replacement (per Baseball Reference) in 32 games with Boston to Rizzo’s 0.6 WAR in 40 games as a Yankee.
Since returning from a hamstring injury to make his Red Sox debut on Aug. 13, Schwarber was batting .297 with six home runs and a .971 OPS entering play Friday. The Red Sox had gone 22-14 since he was activated off the injured list while also getting him acclimated to a new position — first base, where Schwarber started his sixth game Friday night.
“He’s been solid [defensively],” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Moving around and getting used to it, he’s been really good. We’re very pleased with the progress and we feel comfortable playing him at first base.”
Rizzo has been an upgrade defensively at first base over Luke Voit for the Yankees, while his bat has made an impact in certain stretches. In his first nine games with the Yankees, Rizzo hit .281 with three home runs, then tested positive for COVID-19. He took some time to get going again after coming back, but in his past 22 games before Friday, he was batting .284 with three home runs and a .843 OPS.
“He’s a pro, he’s a winner,” Boone said. “He’s a really good player, really good two-way player. I think there’s a lightheartedness that he brings to the field each and every day that makes it fun for guys to be around him while also having those winning intangible things too that he brings each and every day. He’s been great. He’s been a great addition.
“I was bummed when he went on the COVID IL because he was really rolling at the time. That [was] kind of a little couple-week setback for him. I think it took him a minute to get going again.”