Anthony Rizzo is only 35. But with spring training games underway, he continues to linger on the free-agent market. Rizzo wants to play. He’s healthy enough to play. Yet he knows the end of his career might be near. “I’ve definitely thought about it. I think I have a lot to give to the game still,” the three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner at first base said Friday in a telephone interview. “But at the same time, if teams are not going to want to pay a few million dollars for veterans, I’ve seen it the last 10 years of my career. It’s what happens to the older guys. They kind of get squeezed. You’ve seen it happen more and more. I’m not naive to it. It could be it.” Rizzo, a 14-year veteran, became a free agent when the New York Yankees declined his $17 million option, giving him a $6 million buyout that increased his career earnings to $127.6 million. The Yankees replaced him by awarding a one-year, $12.5 million free-agent contract to an even older first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt, 37. Goldschmidt declined offensively in each of the past two seasons after winning the National League MVP award in 2022, but in both years appeared in 154 games. Rizzo, after two injury-marred seasons, understands why his market is less than robust. But he said he would not sign a deal that damages the future earning potential of players behind him.
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