When the deals came, they came fast and in succession, as Jed Hoyer blew up the Cubs’ championship core last summer ahead of the trade deadline.
But for all the rumblings through the post-2016 years about the Cubs potentially moving pieces from their championship core, Anthony Rizzo being the first to go was a surprise.
“I think the hardest one, it was the first one, that it was Rizzo — for everything that he’s done here for the city of Chicago and everything that he’s been through,” ex-Cubs shortstop Javy Báez said Friday on NBC Sports Chicago’s “Unfiltered with David Kaplan.
Rizzo and Kris Bryant were not in the Cubs lineup July 29 last season against the Reds. Shortly after the game ended, Rizzo was dealt to the Yankees.
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Rizzo said last summer he found out about the trade in the Cubs’ player parking lot. The team was headed to the airport to catch a flight for a weekend series against the Nationals.
“That was the hit,” Báez told Kaplan. “At the same time, we understood what could have happened and it did happen.
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"Everybody in this business is ready for that. It’s something that we couldn’t control.”
Báez, when recalling that moment and the shockwaves it sent, said the team got off the bus and went back into the clubhouse to say farewell to the face of the franchise.
“It was a special moment to say goodbye to Rizz,” he told Kaplan.
The Cubs traded Báez (Mets) and Bryant (Giants) a day later. Like Rizzo, they were all set to become free agents in the 2021-22 offseason.
Báez signed a six-year deal with the Tigers over the winter and returned to town this week for the first time since being traded for Detroit’s series on the South Side.
He said it’s “great” to be back and shared a message for Chicago and Cubs fans.
“I love you guys too,” Báez said. “El Mago is going to be El Mago and I’m going to be having fun out there and playing hard for all you guys.”
Watch the full interview here.