Former New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo is still a free agent despite Spring Training getting underway. The 35-year-old had his player option declined by New York at the start of the offseason and he remains on the open market.
Former Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo remains a free agent
Rizzo said that he still wants to continue his playing career despite his numbers drastically falling off. He appeared in less than 100 games in each of the past two seasons with the Yankees with a myriad of injuries.
“I want to play. I want to win,” Rizzo said via The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. “And I love talking the game with pitchers, with hitters. There’s so much to dive into. Everything that goes into it, on the field, off the field, I’ll still be talking about it with guys. We’ll just see if I continue playing.”
As previously mentioned, Rizzo has battled injuries in the past two seasons with the Yankees. He suffered a concussion in 2023 that hampered his play significantly before being shut down late in the year, and a broken arm last season took him out for a couple of months.
Rizzo’s market has not seen a lot of action this offseason
Last season, Rizzo was one of the worst-qualified hitters in baseball with a .228 batting average, eight home runs, and a .637 OPS – the lowest since his rookie season back in 2011. Despite having a great track record of success, it is clear that he is well past his prime days and could be nearing the end of his career.
Teams have addressed first base with other players that they feel are more trustworthy to deliver. The Yankees signed Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal to replace Rizzo, and other teams made trades such as Josh Naylor to the Diamondbacks and Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals.
There are not many options for Rizzo left to find a consistent role with playing time, and chances are he could still be a free agent by the time Opening Day rolls around. Rizzo has a reputation for being a great leader and a good clubhouse guy, which does boost his chances of landing on a team before the start of the season, but concerns about his play and the recent injury trouble could make teams reluctant to take him on.
Ultimately, time will tell if a need at first base opens up for a team and they are willing to take on Rizzo.