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It sounds like Anthony Rizzo is ready to leave the Yankees in the dust.

It sounds like Anthony Rizzo is ready to leave the Yankees in the dust.

New York Yankees going to play Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night. New York trails Los Angeles 3-0 in the series. The Dodgers dominated all three games, pushing the Yankees to the brink of elimination.

And with the season hanging in the balance, that has some players, fans and the media eyeing upcoming free agents on both sides. Players like Juan Soto, Teoscar Hernandez, Clay Holmes and Blake Treinen are set to become unrestricted free agents after the season. Perhaps this is the end of their time with the current team.

And then there are players like Anthony Rizzo who are tied to the club option. Rizzo could also play his final game for the Yankees, something that might have seemed odd to think about a few months ago. But Rizzo’s poor play and lack of consistent health make it hard to imagine the Yankees picking up his $17 million 2025 option.

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Ahead of Game 4, Rizzo was asked about the possibility that this could be his last game and his last series in a Yankees uniform. Instead of dancing around the question, the veteran first baseman answered openly and honestly.

“It may well be. I’m a realist, and it’s not that I’m naive about it, but I think it will all come out when the time comes,” Rizzo said of the possibility of Game 4 being his last game in a Yankees uniform. .

The likelihood of the Yankees picking up his $17 million option is closer to 0 percent than 100 percent. But that doesn’t rule out the possibility that the Yankees reject that option and try to restructure the deal for a little less money.

New York is about to go to war with the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and other big market teams to bring Juan Soto back to the Bronx. They’ll need every dollar they can get to ensure Soto is in pinstripes for life.


And it could come at Rizzo’s expense. But Rizzo doesn’t seem too upset about it. At the end of the day, baseball is a business, and no one understands that better than a formerly traded veteran.