Free agent first baseman Anthony Rizzo has already signaled his interested in returning to the Yankees.
Now, general manager Brian Cashman is confirming the interest is mutual.
In fact, the Yankees have already spoken with Rizzo's representatives about a potential re-signing, Cashman told reporters on Tuesday.
Cashman said both parties seemed to think Rizzo was a good fit in New York following his midseason acquisition via trade.
"A lot to like there," the veteran executive said, per Audacy MLB insider Jon Heyman.
Rizzo is a free agent for the first time in his career.
With the Yankees last season, the 32-year-old hit .249/.340/.428 with 8 home runs and 21 RBIs in 200 plate appearances. Taken with his solid defense, it was a respectable if unspectacular showing.
Meanwhile, reports on Tuesdays indicated the Yankees could be interested if the Athletics were to make slugging first baseman/DH Matt Olson available via trade.
However, Rizzo still has "a lot of support" within the organization, and apparently there is sense his play last season could have been hampered by an on-and-off back ailment, according to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. He also missed time after testing positive for coronavirus.
Rizzo is two years removed from his last standout campaign, which came in 2019, when he posted a 139 OPS+. The three-time All-Star slumped majorly during the virus-shortened 2020 season, and had a minor bounceback in '21.
Rizzo's arrival to the Yankees marked the end of Luke Voit seeing regular at-bats, much to the frustration of Voit and some fans. Voit struggled with a series of injuries last season after leading MLB in home runs in 2020, though he was heating up around the time of Rizzo's acquisition.
