Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber at the center of the Yankees-Red Sox race

In the run-up to the July trade deadline, most of the talk around Anthony Rizzo had held him back for treatment with the Red Sox.

Instead, the Yankees rushed in and pulled off a double hit by acquiring Rizzo from the Cubs to give a boost to first base while keeping him clear of their rivals.

The Red Sox responded by trading for an injured Cubs outfielder – but Kyle Schwarber was much more than that.

How that trade went and perhaps changed the playoff race will come back into the spotlight this weekend as the two former Cubs try to bring their respective teams together to clinch an AL wildcard spot at Fenway Park.

“I am happy [Rizzo is] on our side and I can’t wait to see what he will do for us here in the last nine games, ”manager Aaron Boone said ahead of the game.

While Rizzo looked like a coup at first, Schwarber had been the most valuable player at the start of the weekend – recording 1.0 wins over substitution (by baseball benchmark) in 32 games with Boston at 0.6 Rizzo WAR in 40 matches as Yankee.

Since returning from a hamstring injury to make his Red Sox debut on August 13, Schwarber has been batting .297 with six home runs and a .971 OPS coming into play on Friday. The Red Sox were 22-14 since being taken off the injured list while acclimating him to a new position – first base, where Schwarber started his sixth game on Friday night.

“He was solid [defensively]”Said Red Sox manager Alex Cora.” Getting around and getting used to it, he’s been really good. We’re very happy with the progress and we feel comfortable playing him on first base.

Rizzo was a first-base defensive improvement against Luke Voit for the Yankees, while his batting impacted some stretches. In his first nine games with the Yankees, Rizzo hit 0.281 with three home runs, then tested positive for COVID-19. It took a while to start over after his comeback, but in his last 22 games before Friday, he beat .284 with three homers and an .843 OPS.

“He’s a pro, he’s a winner,” Boone said. “He’s a very good player, a very good two-way player. I think he brings a lightness to the pitch every day that makes it fun for the guys to be around him while also having these winning intangible things that he brings every day. He was awesome. He was a great addition.

“I was disappointed when he went on COVID IL because he was really driving at the time. This [was] a sort of little setback of a few weeks for him. I think it took him a minute to start over.