The news broke two days ago that Anthony Rizzo would re-sign with the New York Yankees, and today the club officially announced the deal. Rizzo’s two year extension will keep him in the Bronx through the 2023 season, with a player opt-out following this upcoming 2022 season. This re-acquisition means that Luke Voit, once a home run champion, is now odd man out at first base. But the real news today, in regards to Anthony Rizzo, could be the fact that he might have actually gotten vaccinated!
Check out this tweet from earlier today, by the leading Yankees beat writer in New Jersey:
I just asked newly reacquired #Yankees 1B Anthony Rizzo about current mandates that unvaccinated players can’t play in NY and Toronto. He talked last year about not getting shots but answered this time, “That shouldn’t be a problem.”
— Randy Miller (@RandyJMiller) March 17, 2022
It could mean a lot of things, but the natural thing to assume here is that Rizzo, a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor, finally got the covid-19 vaccine. Last year he was vocal about not getting it. Either that or thinks the vaccine mandates in Canada and New York are going to be lifted, but that’s a rather naive stance to take. Covid-19 is not over, not by any stretch, and there is no reason to think that all restrictions are going to be lifted by May.
That way of thinking is pretty much on par with Trump’s “it’ll magically disappear by April” bs from March 2020.
Hopefully, Rizzo is not pulling an Aaron Rodgers here and deliberately misleading the public about his vaccination status?
I guess further clarification is set to come on this.
Anthony Rizzo has been linked with a potential return to the Chicago Cubs this offseason, but obviously that’s not in the cards. And when you look at the top free agents still on the market this spring training, you’ll see the Cubs famous “core four” well represented. (Although moves have been made since this Tweet was posted, and the Cubs “core four” is always an evolving term.
Top Free Agents Left on the Board:
Carlos Correa SS
Freddie Freeman 1B
Trevor Story SS
Kris Bryant 3B/OF
Nick Castellanos, RF
Seiya Suzuki, OF
Kenley Jansen, Closer
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Michael Conforto, OF
Kyle Schwarber 1B/OF/DH
Zack Greinke, RHP
Jorge Soler, OF/DH
Tick Tock…— Jim Bowden?? (@JimBowdenGM) March 15, 2022
Of course that list just reminds you of how epically awful the Ricketts fire sale was last July. Anthony Rizzo and the New York Yankees start the 2022 season April 7, at home against the arch-rival Boston Red Sox.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.