BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 6: Anthony Rizzo #48 of the New York Yankees during the AL Wild Card playoff game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on October 6, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Free agent first baseman Anthony Rizzo asked fans whether or not the MLBPA and MLB owners will indeed reach a deal by Monday, Feb. 28.
The end of February brings more troubling lockout news: MLB Spring Training is cancelled through March 7 at the very least, which puts the beginning of the MLB season in jeopardy. The delayed dates only underscore the tension between MLB owners and players as the two sides are still trying to come to an agreement, but the end of the lockout doesn’t appear within sight.
So much so that free agent first baseman Anthony Rizzo is “asking for a friend” if MLB owners “really want to make a deal by Monday (Feb. 28)?” And by “friend”, Rizzo means all 1,200 players whose careers are on hold while the situation plays out.
By midday on Monday, 72 percent of Rizzo’s followers voted “No.”
Anthony Rizzo asks the world when the MLB lockout will end
Rizzo, who spent the majority of his MLB career with the Chicago Cubs, is one of the many free agents suffering from the unending lockout. After eight seasons with the Cubs, the 32-year-old first baseman was traded to the New York Yankees at the 2021 trade deadline. Rizzo made a Yankees milestone a few weeks later, hitting his 250th home run while on the Yankees. Derek Jeter is the only other Yankee to accomplish that feat while on the New York team.
Despite this, the Yankees have other options at first base in Luke Voit and perhaps Freddie Freeman, which has left Rizzo sitting in free agency beyond December. Even though Rizzo started off at first base in the Yankees’ Wild Card Round game, the Yankees may be unwilling to pay $21.7 million per year for Rizzo, which is his market value according to Spotrac.
The Yankees could re-sign him, or Rizzo could continue onto another team — but until the lockout ends, his professional baseball life remains in limbo.