The Yankees re-signed Anthony Rizzo rather quickly into the offseason, inking a two-year deal with a club option for 2025 in mid-November, less than two weeks into the actual free agency period.
A quick deal because Rizzo wanted to be in New York, the Yankees knew it, and the two sides quickly got to a number both were comfortable with.
"I definitely wanted to come back here. That was) first choice, was to be here,” Rizzo said in his first press conference of the spring. “We loved where we lived last year. We loved the whole atmosphere in the city, outside the field, and showing up to Yankee Stadium every day is top notch.”
Rizzo had opted out of his previous deal, which was worth $16 million for 2023, and then was going to turn down the qualifying offer of $19.65 million when the Yankees presented an offer: two years, $34 million with a $17 million club option/$6 million buyout for 2025.
That means two years and $40 million guaranteed, with the contract turning into 3/51 if the option is picked up – and that was good enough, in terms of both money and security, for the 33-year-old.
“We were on the verge of turning down a qualifying offer and knowing it could be a long time in the winter,” Rizzo said. “I really wasn't interested in that again, just with the last two, three years of chaos of COVID, lockout, all the variables…so when the contract came and we felt comfortable with it, we definitely jumped on it."
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Because of the MLB lockout, Rizzo didn’t sign his contract for 2022 until March of last year, so he was behind the eight-ball a bit in spring training. Still, he played 130 games around a back issue and slashed .224/.338/.480 with 32 home runs and 75 RBI, and the Yankees wanted him back as soon as he opted out.
"He became a priority right away," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the situation. "I think everyone's seen Anthony come in and become a leader on this team, have success playing here, become entrenched with his teammates and with the organization and feeling like this is a place that he wanted to be but also just the left-handed pace, the defender that he is, the leader that he is. He's such a glue player for us. So I would say it was absolutely a priority."
Rizzo then, of course, was instrumental in getting Aaron Judge to re-sign, thanks in part to pictures of his dog, and this coming season, he hopes to be instrumental in helping Judge have another strong season by being either good protection or a good table-setter in the lineup.
His back is still a concern, but that’s going to be the case for the rest of his career, most likely.
“I think I’d be crazy to sit here and say I won’t have a back issue this year, because every year it seems like a little something pops up – it’s just something you have to manage, but I definitely feel confident with the daily preparation and routine,” he said. “This offseason, I was really focused on recovery. A lot of recovery, feeling good the next day. Not going stubbornly as hard weight-wise, but intensity-wise still keeping it there. Everything feels good.”
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Either way, though, Rizzo thinks his numbers can be just as strong as, if not better than, 2022’s, for one big reason: the ban on the shift. Rizzo faced the shift on 82.6 percent of his plate appearances and pulled a career-high 45.9 percent of the balls he put in play, according to Baseball Savant, but with no shift available, perhaps that .224 average and .338 OBP can go up significantly.
“I really hope this isn’t the year I start hitting the ball to the shortstop on the ground,” Rizzo smiled. “Especially young left-handed hitters will be introduced to the 3-4 hole that’s been gone for about seven to eight years. So I think in general, left-handed average you’ll see go up with no shift. And, not getting thrown out from shallow right field on a line drive will be nice.”
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