Yankees decline Anthony Rizzo’s 2025 club option

The Yankees are officially in the market for a first baseman.

New York’s offseason has begun and the first domino to fall was the team declining Anthony Rizzo‘s club option for 2025 making him a free agent.

The option would’ve been worth $17 million had the Yankees picked it up, but with Rizzo’s decline in productivity and health in recent years they decided to move on from the 35-year-old who was traded to New York in 2021 from the Chicago Cubs. Instead, the team will pay Rizzo a $6 million buyout.

Rizzo spent 3.5 seasons with the Yanks and had some good moments, but he was hardly the perennial All-Star he was in 10 seasons with Chicago. In 370 games in New York, the first baseman had 60 home runs, 172 RBI and a .234/.326/.409 triple slash line.

He also missed time due to injuries in every season donning the pinstripes, including 2024 when he played just 92 games and had his worst season since his rookie year with eight home runs, 35 RBI and a .637 OPS.

In three trips to the postseason with the Yanks, Rizzo hit .270 with three homers and nine RBI in 20 games. However, in New York’s run to the World Series in 2024, he had no home runs and no RBI while also dealing with fractured fingers in his right hand.