Aaron Judge’s free agency is a huge topic for the Yankees this off-season. While it is a big story, this overshadows Anthony Rizzo opting out of the last year of his contract, making him a free agent. While there are some good first-basemen in this year’s free-agent class, Rizzo is by far the best. DJ LaMahieu is the only first baseman currently on the roster. While he can play the position, he’s not ideal, given his limited power. It makes it more important to bring back Rizzo. While bringing back Aaron Judge is important, bringing back Anthony Rizzo should also be a huge priority.
This season, despite missing some time due to back problems, Anthony Rizzo greatly impacted the offense. He finished the 2022 season tying his career high in home runs with 32 with 75 RBI and an OPS of .817. His home runs and OPS were second to only Aaron Judge, who had a once-in-a-lifetime season.
Bringing back Rizzo is also important because he hits left-handed. Yankee Stadium is considered to be heaven for left-handed batters because of the short porch in right. At Yankee Stadium, it is only 314 feet from home plate to right field. Without Rizzo, the only player on the 40-man roster that could bat left-handed is Oswaldo Cabrera, who really is a switch hitter. The offense wouldn’t be able to have the advantage of being able to pull the ball to right. Instead, the mostly right-handed Yankees would have to hit it to the opposite field. This would put the Yankees’ offense at a disadvantage.
These days, teams are placing an extra emphasis on developing talent in the minor leagues. Currently, the Yankees don’t have a big-league-ready first baseman in their system. The Yankees also haven’t had a homegrown first baseman since Don Mattingly. All the first basemen who have played for the Yankees in recent years have come either via trade or free agency. This makes it even more important for the Yankees to get Rizzo back in pinstripes.
Aside from Anthony Rizzo, this year’s class features Josh Bell, Brandon Belt, Eric Hosmer, Jose Abreu, Miguel Sano, Carlos Santana, Trey Mancini, Yuli Gurriel, Jesus Aguilar, and more. All those guys would be a downgrade in production. While I think Josh Bell or Trey Mancini can bring some production, it still wouldn’t match what Rizzo has brought.
Unlike a lot of other Yankee bats, Anthony Rizzo had a great postseason. In both the ALDS and ALCS combined, he hit .276 with two home runs and eight RBI and had an OPS of .984. His eight RBI led New York in the postseason. Only Harrison Bader had a higher OPS and more home runs. The next closest guy was Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had an OPS of .683.
Anthony Rizzo is also considered to be one of baseball’s best defensive first basemen. This season, he registered a fielding percentage of .995 and committed only five errors. While Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may have won the Gold Glove, however, he doesn’t make the kind of impact Rizzo does on defense.
The number of balls he saves from becoming errors isn’t in the box score. You could probably look up a compilation of plays that would show you how big Rizzo’s impact is on the Yankees’ defense. Given the erraticness of Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s throws from shortstop, it would be smart to bring Rizzo back. I’m having a hard time finding anyone else who does the things defensively that Rizzo has done for New York.
Aaron Judge is the number one guy to lock up for next year, but Anthony Rizzo is equally important. With no minor-league talent ready and less production available in free agency, re-signing Anthony Rizzo is a must. Nobody impacts the game both offensively and defensively the way Rizzo has for the Yankees.
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