Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Anthony Rizzo Speaks Out About Astros Free Agency Rumor

Anthony Rizzo spoke to reporters on Wednesday, one day after he re-signed with the Yankees on a two-year contract.

Max Goodman

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Anthony Rizzo is back with the Yankees for at least two more seasons, re-signing with the club on Tuesday.

For a moment earlier in the week, however, reports revealed that a certain rival had reached out to Rizzo's camp, showing interest while the first baseman was still a free agent.

The Astros, just a few weeks after eliminating New York from postseason contention and winning their second championship in the last six seasons, had made Rizzo their No. 1 free-agent target at first base, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Rizzo was asked about that rumor on Wednesday afternoon while he spoke to reporters for the first time since agreeing to his two-year, $34 million deal.

"I mean, every team that reaches out is definitely taken into consideration," Rizzo said. "I think as a player when teams reach out to you in this process, it just makes you feel good. I feel like in this game, you are told what you don't do really well at so in free agency when teams call, they praise you. So each team that has reached out, I really appreciated their words and I mean just from respect on their end, I don't really want to go too deep into it, but I just appreciate the teams that did reach out."

Rizzo added that he didn't have any face-to-face meetings with other teams during his brief dip into free agency. 

"The interest that we gathered and talked to other teams about was enough interest for us if we didn't get a deal done [with the Yankees] to turn down the qualifying offer, thinking that we would be able to get a similar deal of stature that we got," Rizzo said. 

Rizzo's new contract with New York includes a club option for 2025, a third season worth $17 million. At the very least, Rizzo will make $40 million from this deal. His buyout after the 2024 season is worth $6 million. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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