The New York Yankees made their first big move of the offseason, re-signing first baseman Anthony Rizzo to a multi-year contract.
The New York Yankees fanbase wondered what exactly the team would do this offseason after they were swept out of the ALCS by the Houston Astros. They have a bunch of players hitting free agency, with outfielder Aaron Judge being the main priority. But if there was a player that was right behind Judge in order of importance, it had to be first-baseman Anthony Rizzo.
One day after the first part of a Hal Steinbrenner interview on YES Network and a report that the Astros prioritized signing Rizzo this offseason, the Yankees faithful have reason to smile.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees are re-signing Rizzo to a multi-year contract. As for the details, Jack Curry of YES Network reported that the deal was two-years, $34 million, with a $17 million club option for the 2025 season.
Anthony Rizzo is re-signing with the Yankees on a multi-year deal, source tells @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 15, 2022
Yankees fans thrilled about team re-signing Anthony Rizzo
There were plenty of reactions about the Rizzo signing, including Yankees fans and baseball commentators in general.
ANTHONY RIZZO BACK IN PINSTRIPES pic.twitter.com/9qPuuPmcur
— Nick Parco (@nick_parco) November 15, 2022
anthony rizzo will never touch an astros uniform pic.twitter.com/sXJ8j0vcx8
— rodón truther (@trevystan) November 15, 2022
ANTHONY RIZZO IS BACK IN PINSTRIPES 🤌🤌🤌
— Jimmy Randazzo (@JimmyRandazzo) November 15, 2022
welcome to the former future astro club, anthony rizzo!! https://t.co/e5BTiu36es
— jackson (@foreverstros) November 15, 2022
https://twitter.com/FrankiesTwoLoud/status/1592632921415831552
Anthony Rizzo’s camp was funny to have the leak about the Houston Astros yesterday come out tbh
— Max Wildstein (@MaxWildstein) November 15, 2022
Anthony Rizzo is not going to Houston pic.twitter.com/fGnjBZP6yH
— Cam (@Camd3n_10) November 15, 2022
Thank god the Yankees immediately shut down the Rizzo to the Astros rumors that would’ve been horrible to have to worry about
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) November 15, 2022
Really hope the Yankees offseason isn’t just re-signing Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo.
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) November 15, 2022
Huge to retain them, but don’t take advantage of fans being excited about that. More to be done. Last year’s team wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t only health.
At the trade deadline in the 2021 season, Rizzo was one of the big additions for the Yankees. He provided something that the team needed — a left-handed bat and a very good glove at first base. In the 2021 season, Rizzo recorded a .249 batting average, a .340 on-base percentage, a .428 slugging percentage, eight home runs, 21 RBI, 32 runs scored, and 43 hits.
Prior to the 2022 season, Rizzo re-signed with the team on a two-year, $32 million contract, but it included an opt-out after the first year. This season, Rizzo recorded a .224 batting average, a .817 OPS, 32 home runs, 75 RBI, and 104 hits.
Rizzo opted out of his contract and declined the team’s $19.65 million qualifying offer from the Yankees.
On Monday, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal noted in his latest article that the Astros had Rizzo as their “No. 1 free agent target at first-base.”
The Yankees prevented that nightmarish scenario from becoming a reality, as they brought back Rizzo on a multi-year deal. Now, Yankees fans will wait and see if the team can also bring Judge back.