Yankees decline Rizzo's option, making slugger free agent
The Yankees have declined their 2025 club option on first baseman Anthony Rizzo, making him a free agent.
Rizzo, playing in his third full season with the Yankees in 2024 after a midseason trade from the Cubs in 2021, appeared in just 92 games, thanks to two significant injuries. He fractured his right forearm in a June collision and was out until September. Then he broke two fingers on his right hand when he was hit by a pitch the last week of the season.
For the season, Rizzo hit .228 with eight homers and a .636 OPS.
His injury-hampered season this year followed a 2023 season in which he was limited to 99 games because of neck and elbow issues, and a concussion that ended his season in early August.
Rizzo, 35, who will enter his 15th season in 2025, is a career .261 hitter with 303 homers and an .828 OPS. Since 2020, however, he's hit .235 with a .747 OPS.