Kris Bryant jokes about Anthony Rizzo playing third base

Add one more chapter to the Bryzzo story.

When Kris Bryant came out of Tuesday’s game against the Reds in the ninth inning with a hand injury from a pitched ball, manager Joe Maddon needed to put a body at third base for the bottom half with the Cubs leading 13-6.

Maddon moved left-handed first baseman Anthony Rizzo across the diamond, making him the first lefty to play the hot corner for the Cubs since George Decker in 1895.

Rizzo also became the first left-hander to play third for any major league team in two decades. Mario Valdez of the White Sox did it in 1997.

X-rays were negative on Bryant’s hand. He later joked about Rizzo playing third.

“Great, now we’re going to have to hear about it, Bryant said. “He’s probably letting everybody hear about it now, sending 50 text messages. Gosh, now he’ll put his Twitter bio as a third baseman.”

Well, not yet. However, it does say second base, where Rizzo sometimes positions himself on bunts. In fact, Rizzo is the first lefty to play both second and third in the same season since Wee Willie Keeler in 1901.

Maddon, whose m.o. is to move players around, explained the odd alignment after the game: “The only thing left,” he said, “was either [Alex] Avila at third, which is no fun, or Rizzo at third, Avila at first, which is fun.”

Other than a few ground balls during warmups, Rizzo didn’t get any live action at third in the Cubs’ 13-9 victory.