It’s official: the Yankees have acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo and cash considerations from the Chicago Cubs for minor-league RHP Alexander Vizcaino and OF Kevin Alcantara.
The lefty-hitting Rizzo, 31, is having a down year but has a long track record of success and plenty of playoff experience. He’s hitting .248 with 14 homers, 48 RBI, and a .792 OPS in 92 games this season. Rizzo has been swinging the bat better lately, homering in three of his past four games before sitting out the Cubs' loss to the Reds at Wrigley Field on Thursday afternoon.
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He will be a free agent at season’s end, and per Jack Curry of the YES Network, the cash considerations in the deal will see the Cubs pay the remainder of his $14.5 million salary, meaning Rizzo will count zero against the Yankees’ luxury tax payroll calculation.
Vizcaino, 24, was an international signee in 2016, and is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in six games (three starts) between the FCL and High-A Hudson Valley this year. The righty spent his first three seasons, minus one start, in Rookie ball, but broke out in 2019 in 21 starts between Charleston and Tampa, then the Yankees’ Low-A and High-A affiliates.
Vizcaino was at the Yankees’ alternate site last season and earned a 40-man roster spot this winter, and per MLB Pipeline, who ranked Vizcaino as their No. 9 prospect in the system, “his fastball (mid-to-high 90s, touching 100) and changeup (low-90s) earn double-plus grades when at their best, and his low-90s changeup has splitter action and can be even more devastating than his fastball.”
Alcantara, 19, was a 2018 international signee who spent 2019 in the Gulf Coast League and was repeating that level in 2021. The No. 12 prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline had a .360/.448/.520 slash line in eight FCL games this year, and over 49 pro games, Alcantara has a .269/.325/.382 slash line.
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