I'm sad. It's the end of a glorious era. However, I'm glad that the return seems solid.

I guess the Luke Voit era is over.

Yankees trail last wild-card A's by 3 games and Mariners by 2 games. they are closer to the No. 8 Blue Jays (who picked up Brad Hand today) than either. and they are closer to the No. 9-tie 'dians and Angels than they are to the A's.

so come on down, Anthony Rizzo !

"In exchange, Chicago will be receiving two of the Yankees' top prospects, according to the YES Network's Jack Curry: Right-hander Alexander Vizcaino (No. 9 on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Yankees prospects list) and outfielder Kevin Alcantara (No. 12)."

#lastchancesaloon

#crossthread

I think this means the Rougned Odor Era is over for the Yanks as well, with LeMahieu going back to second full-time.

As an Angels fan, watching Oakland, Seattle, New York, and Toronto all make deadline deals while my team stands still with the still full of holes is pretty disheartening.

Not gonna lie: I'm oddly emotional over this. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that at least one half of the Bryzzo combination was gone, but seeing it actually play out feels different. It seemed clear as early as a couple seasons ago that this iteration of the Cubs was unlikely to get deep into October, let alone win another World Series. Even so, seeing Rizzo go, it really is the end of an era. I still remember Rizzo getting called up midway through the slog that was the 2012 season. He was still rough around the edges, but the buzz around his arrival still stays with me. It really felt like that first piece of the puzzle of the great rebuild was finally put into place.

Recent seasons be damned, the last decade has never been more enjoyable to be a Cubs fan and Anthony Rizzo was a major part of that. It's going to be tough rooting for him to never get another hit again now that he's playing for the Evil Empire, but he's easily one of my personal favorite ballplayers of all time.

Fun fact: 'Alcantara' comes from the Arabic word for 'bridge'.

As an Angels fan, watching Oakland, Seattle, New York, and Toronto all make deadline deals while my team stands still with the still full of holes is pretty disheartening.

At least one report suggests the Angels are trying to make a deal:

Jon Heyman
@JonHeyman
·
26m
Mystery team has shown interest in Max Scherzer. But this time I’ll end the mystery: It’s the Angels. That would make 3 Southern California teams in on Max. Of course, with the Angels only on the cusp of the race, they seem like quite a long shot. Padres and Dodgers more likely.

That may just be calculated leak to keep LA Hombre and other suckers fans a little happier.

Walks - There are definitely players that you don’t want to see traded. If they leave as a FA so be it but you want to have that final day of the regular season to just stand and scream your head off for them.

Er, Texas, paying attention? This is how it’s done…

Er, Texas, paying attention? This is how it’s done…

I keep counting on Trout and Rendon and Walsh to come back healthy -- that would be better than any trade they could pull off. I'd love to get Scherzer, of course, but I don't want to lose the few high-end prospects the farm system has finally been able to yield. It's all wait and see, I guess.

Walks - There are definitely players that you don’t want to see traded. If they leave as a FA so be it but you want to have that final day of the regular season to just stand and scream your head off for them.

That could have been today - Bryant and Rizzo were both not in the lineup, but "available" to pinch hit - yet they did not pinch hit (but reliever Kyle Ryan got a 7th inning at bat)

Damn

Not gonna lie: I'm oddly emotional over this.

Even so, seeing Rizzo go, it really is the end of an era.

same. this hurts.

Not gonna lie: I'm oddly emotional over this.

Even so, seeing Rizzo go, it really is the end of an era.

1970s Mets fans seeing TOM SEAVER traded to Cincinnati in the 1970s for multiple mortals: HOLD MY BEER

and as far as rooting against, or not:

I was at Shea Stadium for Game 7 of the 1986 World Series. In the dugout - and in uniform for the Red Sox - was Tom Seaver.

thankfully, he was injured and inactive.

but still.

y'all may have a cross to bear down the road.

I'll echo the other comments from Cubs fans here ... I actually feel a little angry about this trade. I guess it's because Rizzo very publicly made it known that he wanted to stay a Cub, and because in turn no one really wanted to see him go, and because the return in this trade isn't "oh neat, a couple of guys that might be important pieces of the next great Cubs team" but rather "well, at least they're building some credible minor league depth". Let's face it, it's nice to say that these guys are instant entries on the Cubs' top 10 prospect lists, but neither of these guys would rate all that highly in a system with more legit prospects in it.

There may have been other good reasons to trade Rizzo. Maybe his public desire to stay in Chicago was just a cover for private discontent. Maybe his refusal to get vaxxed (unless I missed news that he got it after all) was causing serious problems in the clubhouse. Maybe the front office has rumblings of some scandal about to emerge. Who knows.

But it sure seems like we've gone from a system where failed teams trade their stars as a cornerstone for a rebuilding effort, to a system where you just trade everyone for the sake of trading them, almost regardless of the return. It just seems bad for the game, one more way for teams to chip away shortsightedly at fan loyalty, only in the guise of it actually being farsighted.

And apparently the Cubs aren't even saving money! It really just is just trading away a popular player for the sake of trading him away. One less guy to root for, one less reason to care.

Yep, sad to see Rizzo go. Seemed a very likable human as well and seems liked around the league. Maybe they'll bring him back this offseason. (unlikely but). Of course ... the Yankees??? Ugh. (I had assumed Gallo to the Yanks ended the Rizzo chances ... still can't believe Boston didn't make this trade.) I'd rate him the best Cub hitter of the last several years -- I always had more faith he'd do something good in a big spot than Bryant (and certainly Contreras, Baez, Schwarber et al).

As to "top prospects" ... a team's #9 and #12 are not top prospects. They might pan out, probably won't make a difference. Whether you can expect more for 2 months of a player is a good question. Alcantara is still only 18 so being #12 at 18 is pretty promising. Vizcaino is 24 and has just 6 IP this year -- injured or just trouble getting into the country?

The Cub history with Alcantaras (Arismendy, Sergio) and Vizcainos (Jose, Arodys and Luis) is not promising. :-)

I'm fine with the Cubs picking up salary here -- I assume that was necessary to get Alcantara.

It's interesting/weird what the Cubs have been doing. This, the Darvish trade, a couple of others are essentially trading in exchange for a strong 2019-20 draft/international signing pool. They're a long way away unless they're secret Trout/Betts types. It's a very long-range plan, maybe even moreso than Theo's plan. The next few years look pretty brutal.

I love Rizzo for everything he did as a cub and as a person in chicago but an aging 1b with back issues is not the guy to hold onto. Wish we could have gotten more for him, but its a few months of his services. But with the sogard dfa and this trade maybe the cubs hit the 85% vaccinated mark soon.

I will never forget 16, and those who were part of it. But that was 5 years ago sometimes you just have to move on.

I love Rizzo for everything he did as a cub and as a person in chicago but an aging 1b with back issues is not the guy to hold onto.

This. Rizzo turns 32 in a week and over the last two years (which add up to 150 games), he's hit .238/.344/.433. If you want to keep him around as some kind of plush toy, fine, but as a baseball player, he's nothing special at this point of his career.