Chicago Cubs: Per usual, no one is talking about Anthony Rizzo

Everyone is talking about Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant. But what about Chicago Cubs first baseman, Anthony Rizzo, and what he means moving forward?

This has been a strange offseason. Since the Chicago Cubs turned the corner from lovable losers to perennial powerhouse, Hot Stove season has been nearly as exciting as the baseball season itself.

It started with bringing in veteran ace Jon Lester in December 2014. The next year, the Cubs went out and added Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist, the latter fresh off his World Series title with the Kansas City Royals. After Chicago won it all, they brought in Wade Davis to finalize the ninth inning heading into 2017. And last offseason, Thep Epstein swung and missed (at least in the short-term) with Yu Darvish, Brandon Morrow and Tyler Chatwood.

What I’m getting at is pretty simple, really. As Cubs fans, we’re used to busy, exciting news this time of year. And now, we’re faced with a longshot hope of Bryce Harper that seems unlikely to come to fruition barring some creative moves from the front office.

So while we’re all talking about what Harper could mean alongside his childhood friend, Kris Bryant, we’ve fallen into a familiar pattern: underappreciating the work of Anthony Rizzo and what he’ll mean to this Cubs offense in 2019.