Yankees decline club option on Anthony Rizzo

The Yankees announced they have declined their 2025 club option Anthony Rizzoand the veteran first baseman is now a free agent. It was an $11 million decision for the team, as Rizzo receives a $6 million buyout instead of the $17 million salary he would have received had the option been exercised.

The move likely ends Rizzo's three-plus season tenure in the Bronx, which began after he was picked up by the Cubs at the trade deadline in July 2021. He hit well enough that the Yankees re-signed him to a two-year, $32 million deal that winter, and since that deal contained an out clause after the first season, Rizzo converted that out clause into another two-year contract $40 million the following offseason.

Rizzo's 2022 season was easily his best in New York, as he hit .224/.338/.480 with 32 home runs in 548 plate appearances. He also got off to a good start in the first two months of the 2023 season before his career was changed by a collision at first base Fernando Tatis Jr. on May 28, 2023. Rizzo suffered a reported neck injury during the game and returned to action after a few games. However, he endured a brutal slump over the next two-plus months, finally hitting the stage on IL in early August. Rizzo was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, which of course led to quite a bit of controversy as to why Rizzo was misdiagnosed in the first place and why his head injury seemingly went unnoticed for so long.

That IL placement ended Rizzo's 2023 season, and he had even more bad luck with injuries this year when he broke his right forearm after another nasty collision at first base in June. Rizzo was on the 60-day injured list and did not return until early September. He then suffered another injury when he broke two fingers Ryan Borucki Pitch toward the end of the regular season. The broken fingers kept Rizzo out of the Yankees' ALDS matchup against the Royals, although he came back and hit a respectable .267/.421/.300 over 38 PA in the ALCS and World Series.

Since Opening Day 2023, Rizzo has hit just .237/.315/.358 in 796 regular-season plate appearances in 191 of 324 games. That equates to 0.6 fWAR and a below-average 91 wRC+, and since Rizzo turned 35 last August, it was pretty easy for the Yankees to decline the option.

The health issue is clearly paramount for Rizzo as he returns to the open market, as potential suitors will certainly have concerns about what Rizzo has left in reserve after 14 major league seasons. His track record and respected presence in the locker room likely means he should be able to get a big league contract for a low guaranteed salary, though likely as a platoon bat rather than a starter at first base. A return to the Yankees at a lower salary seems possible, but the more likely scenario is that New York either bolsters the lineup with a bigger bat at first base or perhaps rotates DJ LeMahieu and others by position.