Yankees decline 2025 option on Anthony Rizzo, Gerrit Cole opts out of deal

Fresh off a World Series loss, the New York Yankees are starting to make changes. The team announced Saturday that it has declined the 2025 option of first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

The 35-year-old infielder signed a two-year, $34 million contract with the Yankees in 2022, with a $17 million option for 2025 or a $6 million buyout. With the team declining the option, Rizzo is now a free agent.

Additionally, pitcher Gerrit Cole has opted out of his contract, per multiple media reports. Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million deal in 2019 — then the richest contract in league history — to bring him to New York through 2028.

The Yankees can reportedly void the opt-out by adding a year to the contract, giving Cole an additional $36 million on top of the $144 million he would earn over the next four seasons. Per ESPN, the Yankees have until 5 p.m. ET Monday to decide whether to restructure the deal.

Rizzo and Cole were involved in the fifth-inning mistakes that saw the Yankees blow a five-run lead in World Series Game 5. A miscommunication between the two let Tommy Edman get to home plate on a Mookie Betts single with two outs, marking the third straight error of the inning.

Rizzo missed the divisional round against the Kansas City Royals after fracturing two fingers during the second-to-last game of the regular season. He returned to the lineup for the ALCS, recording eight hits and eight strikeouts across the postseason.

On the season as a whole, he batted .228 with eight home runs and 35 RBI in 92 games.

Rizzo’s past two seasons have been hampered by injuries: The first baseman missed 62 games in 2024 after fracturing his right forearm in a collision with a pitcher, and he missed the final few months of the 2023 season due to complications from a concussion.

Cole, meanwhile, finished the 2024 season with 99 strikeouts across 95 innings. The six-time All-Star and 2023 Cy Young winner missed the start of the season due to nerve inflammation and then had a 3.41 ERA across 17 games.

These moves mark the start of what is likely to be a busy offseason for the Yankees following the disappointment of the World Series. The team exercised an option for reliever Luke Weaver on Friday but has some other key players still up in the air. Outfielder Juan Soto, who will be a free agent this offseason, has said that he is “open to listen to every single team” who will be giving him an offer, meaning that the Yankees will have to court him in order to get him to stay. Gleyber Torres and Alex Verdugo are also free agents this winter, and the Yankees have to decide whether to exercise pitcher Lou Trivino’s option.