Anthony Rizzo saw writing on wall that Yankees would decline his contract option

It was clear that Anthony Rizzo knew that his days with the Yankees were all but numbered. Perhaps that was why more than an hour after the final out of Game 5 of the World Series, he was still in his pinstripes while the rest of his teammates were already in their street clothes and filing out of the locker room.

“To wear this jersey is something special I wish every baseball player gets to feel,” Rizzo said. “It’s a different feeling to wear this jersey. I’ve loved every second of it.”

Leading up to the Yankees’ elimination at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Rizzo’s future seemed like a foregone conclusion, as even he hinted that the team would not pick up his contract option for 2025.

“This could very well be it. I’m a realist, I’m not naive to it,” Rizzo said before Game 4 when his Yankees were trying to stave off a World Series sweep. “But I think all of that will shape out when the time is right. It’s more just driving to the field and being with this group. That’s what means the most.”

The Yankees made it official on Saturday, announcing that they would, in fact, decline the $17 million option that would have kept Rizzo in the Bronx for the 2025 season.

Brought in to help put the Yankees over the top during the 2021 season as the franchise first baseman, Rizzo hits free agency without a ring during his time in the Bronx.

Anthony RIzzo Yankees — Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Instead, the three-time All-Star was sabotaged by injuries, playing 191 out of a possible 324 regular-season games between 2023 and 2024 — a difficult ending after he slammed 32 home runs during his first full season as a Yankee in 2022.

Over the last two years, Rizzo mustered a .673 OPS with 20 home runs and 76 RBI, all but confirming that the Yankees will have to look elsewhere for a franchise first baseman.

It is something that they will have to add to a growing list of tasks this winter. Not only will they have to address Juan Soto’s long-term future — they will decide whether or not to make a legitimate push at keeping him for the rest of his career — but Gerrit Cole opted out of his contract on Saturday, forcing the Yankees to either add a fifth year worth $36 million to his current deal or let him hit free agency.