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MIAMI –Nobody liked playing for the Chicago Cubs more than Anthony Rizzo, not even Mr. Cub Ernie Banks or Ron Santo at the time, or Sammy Sosa in his 60 seasons on the homestay.
Rizzo loved to play at Wrigley Field. He loved the fans as much as they loved him. He loves the Cubs uniform, loves the city of Chicago and nothing in Rizzo’s career will come close to 2016. How do you outdo being the most popular player on the Cubs’ first team in 108 years ?
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And it’s not like Rizzo doesn’t know what it’s like in other places. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox and made his major tournament debut with the San Diego Padres. The Cubs were his everything for almost a decade, and he wanted it to stay that way until he was done playing.
Truth be told, Rizzo never wanted to be a Yankee until he became one on Thursday, when the Cubs opted to trade the three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove first baseman instead. to let him run after the season as a free agent.
Now that he’s here, Rizzo is already interested in making it more than a late-season hire that may or may not lead to an exciting Yankees playoff series before he hits the open market.
“Uh, yeah, absolutely,” Rizzo said on Friday hours before giving new boss Brian Cashman a good look as he went 2 for 4 with a sixth inning homer that broke a scoreless tie in the 3-1 win. of the Yankees against the Miami Marlins.
If you didn’t get that, Rizzo admitted that staying a Yankee beyond 2020 is intriguing.
“I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this franchise and how it works from the inside and the outside and I am excited to dive in, learn and see all that the Yankees franchise has to offer.” , said Rizzo. “I know it’s amazing and I know the story here, and it speaks for itself.
“But when it comes to contracts and so on, it’s just about winning baseball games and playing a part with our guys here, gelding, having fun and bringing out the best energy out of it. each.”
This second part shows what Rizzo is as a player. He’s here to win and he thinks his new team has what it takes, although they probably needed a really good August and September to qualify for the playoffs again.
“Get into the playoffs and anything could happen, so it’s just a one-day-at-a-time mentality right now,” Rizzo said.
That’s what Cashman thought when he pulled off his trade deadline surprise by adding Rizzo even though 2020 home runs champion Luke Voit was reportedly going to drop off the injured list this weekend.
“We added Rizzo for this extended ride,” Cashman said. “Everything revolves around the effort of 2021. We have not really dreamed of the future. The way that business deadline was going with all the conversations… I don’t think anyone had time to look into the future of this stuff. Our intention was to try and increase our chances of giving our team a better opportunity to compete the rest of the way, and that was really the only goal. “
Rizzo was hoping to secure a new contract after showing up for spring training as a lame duck. He’s making $ 15 million this season in the second and final club option year of a seven-year, $ 41 million friendly contract that turned out to be new for $ 68 million.
When contract negotiations resumed in March, there was speculation that Rizzo could secure a deal similar to the $ 130 million five-year extension that Paul Goldschmidt received from the St. Louis Cardinals in March 2019.
Goldschmidt turned 32 in 2019. Rizzo will be 32 on August 8.
According to ESPN.com, the Cubs offered $ 70 million for five years, and Rizzo’s number was in the range of $ 100 million instead. It wasn’t going to create momentum towards a deal, and then the Cubs didn’t budge until Rizzo’s opening day deadline.
The Cubs played a less than 0.500 record for four months, which led management to decide to stage a fire sale on the trade deadline that tore the hearts of the 2016 squad. goal Kris Bryant, shortstop Javier Baez and Rizzo are all in their walking years, and all three were traded on Thursday.
“I’ve said many times that I want to stay in Chicago and be a Cub for the rest of my career,” said Rizzo. “Obviously it didn’t work out, but coming in this year you know at the end of the year you’re a free agent. I’ve never had it before and there will be an opportunity to shine, hopefully, and we’ll see what happens. But it’s so far from now and the day to day work that it’s going to take to get us back into the playoff victory and whatever it takes to get there.
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