More than anyone else in the Yankees clubhouse possibly could, Anthony Rizzo understood what it might take to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the World Series.
But the veteran first baseman arrived at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday also knowing he could be playing his final game as a Yankee.
Within five days of the conclusion of the World Series — which the Dodgers led 3-0 entering Tuesday’s Game 4 in The Bronx — the Yankees will have to either pick up a $17 million team option on Rizzo for 2025 or buy him out for $6 million.
It’s also possible the two sides could try to negotiate a deal at a different price.
“I love playing here,” Rizzo said Tuesday afternoon. “I love being a Yankee. I love what comes with it. I love the standard that has been set here from all the generations, the great Yankees in the past.
“Yeah, this could very well be [my last game as a Yankee]. I’m a realist. I’m not naive to it. But I think all that will shape out when the time is right. It’s more just driving to the field and being with this group that means the most to me.”
The 35-year-old Rizzo, who came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the 2016 World Series with the Cubs, has spent this year’s ALCS and World Series playing through two broken fingers on his right hand.
Nevertheless, he came into Tuesday batting .364 with a .926 OPS, providing an unexpected source of offense near the bottom of the lineup.
The left-handed hitter, coming off back-to-back injury-plagued seasons, was already a respected figure inside the Yankees clubhouse, but has only reinforced that by playing hurt in these playoffs.
“He is beloved in there [the clubhouse], beloved by me,” manager Aaron Boone said. “What he’s gone through the last couple years on the injury front, to come back and play through what he’s playing through right now and to play at the level he’s playing at, it’s a good peek into his playoff mettle, his big-game mettle, his toughness, the way I put it, his moxie, his ability to play the game within the game.
“I feel like he’s willing himself on base in certain situations. He’s a big presence in our room.”
Whether he continues to be next year, though, remains in question.
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The Yankees don’t exactly have anyone knocking at the door from the minor leagues to play first base — rookie Ben Rice provided a spark there this summer when Rizzo was out with a fractured forearm, though he is a natural catcher — but Rizzo is coming off the worst two regular seasons of his 14-year career.
After hitting .244 with a .706 OPS across 99 games in 2023 — before he was finally diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, having played through it for two months — he hit .228 with a .637 OPS in 92 games this season, which included missing two and a half months with the forearm injury.
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With Hal Steinbrenner already having said that a payroll in excess of $300 million is not sustainable and the Yankees offseason expected to center around trying to re-sign Juan Soto to a hefty contract, they seem unlikely to bring back Rizzo at $17 million.
But it is not out of the question that he still finds a way back onto the roster next year at a lower price point.
In the meantime, Rizzo was trying to soak up the final days of the season.
“There’s no tomorrow anymore,” Rizzo said. “There really isn’t. Today could be our last drive to the ballpark. Today could be the last time this team’s ever together — this could be the last time we’re ever together.”
