NEW YORK — Anthony Rizzo is staying with the New York Yankees, agreeing Tuesday night to a $32 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.
A three-time All-Star first baseman, Rizzo was acquired by the Yankees from the Chicago Cubs on July 29 and added a left-handed bat to a heavily right-handed batting order in New York. He hit .248 with 22 home runs, 61 RBI and a .783 OPS last season.
Rizzo also provided plate discipline and smooth fielding at first, where he has won a pair of Gold Gloves.
The deal may take the Yankees out of the running for free agent and former Braves All-Star Freddie Freeman. New York reportedly had interest in the 2020 NL MVP. It also creates uncertainty for returning first baseman Luke Voit.
Rizzo said last June that he had not received a coronavirus vaccine, adding “as we continue to get more data, I’ll continue to be more educated on it.” He will need to be vaccinated in order to play at Yankee Stadium due to a requirement in New York City that every private sector employee be inoculated against the coronavirus, unless that requirement is lifted.
Unvaccinated players will also not be allowed to play in Toronto against the division-rival Blue Jays due to Canadian entry laws.
• New York star Aaron Judge refused to directly answer a question about his vaccine status amid a requirement in New York City that requires every private sector employee be inoculated against the coronavirus.
“I’m still focused on just getting to the first game of spring training,” Judge said from the team’s Florida training complex. “So I think we’ll cross that bridge after the time comes. But right now, so many things could change. So I’m not really too worried about that right now.”
Just like Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, unvaccinated players on the Yankees and Mets will not be allowed to suit up at home due to the city’s private employer mandate that went into effect Dec. 27.
The employer mandate is the same across the board, whether it’s a sports team playing indoors or outdoors. A city hall official who was not authorized to speak on the record noted that the start of the season is a month away, too far out to make a determination about what will happen then as the city continues to monitor COVID-19 cases.
The Yankees said in a statement that team president Randy Levine was “working with city hall and all other appropriate officials on this matter.”
“We will have no further comment,” the team added.
The Yankees open their season at home against the rival Boston Red Sox on April 7.
Judge is a three-time All-Star and a leader in New York’s clubhouse. He hit .287 with 39 homers last season and finished fourth in AL MVP balloting. He’s eligible to become a free agent after this season, although he’s expressed a strong interest in signing a long-term deal with New York.
BRAVES: One day after cutting ties with Freddie Freeman, the Atlanta Braves signed new first baseman Matt Olson to a $168 million, eight-year contract.
Olson was not eligible for free agency until after the 2023 season, but the World Series champions quickly locked down the 27-year-old slugger through at least 2029. The deal also includes a $20 million club option for 2030 with no buyout.
The Braves on Tuesday also added former Tampa Bay right-hander Collin McHugh to a $10 million, two-year deal. The deal includes a $6 million club option for 2024 with a $1 million buyout.
With a stunning bit of wheeling and dealing, the Braves addressed their potential hole at first base after failing to reach a deal with Freeman, who led the team for more than a decade and played a huge role in Atlanta capturing its first World Series championship since 1995.
The Braves dealt four top prospects to the Oakland Athletics for Olson, a 2021 All-Star coming off a season in which he had 39 homers and 111 RBIs while batting .271.
Olson will make $15 million this year, $21 million in 2023 and $22 million in each of the following six seasons.
It was the 10th contract of at least $100 million agreed to since the end of the World Series and the first since Major League Baseball’s 99-day lockout ended last week,
The payout is the largest in Braves’ history, surpassing the $135 million, eight-year deal that Freeman signed after the 2013 season.
Atlanta was not willing to make that sort of long-term commitment again to Freeman, who is 32. But, with a younger player who was willing to take less money per year that his predecessor is reportedly seeking, the Braves agreed to the sort of lengthy deal they weren’t prepared to give Freeman.
Olson, who turns 28 on March 29, flew from Arizona to the Braves spring training camp in Venice, Florida, where the team announced his new contract at an introductory news conference.
PHILLIES: Right-handed reliever Jeurys Familia and left-handed reliever Brad Hand have finalized one-year contracts with Philadelphia.
Hand was a three-time All-Star between 2017-20 when he totaled 103 saves with a 2.63 ERA. He struggled last season in Washington and Toronto but finished strong with the Mets. Overall, he was 6-7 with a 3.90 ERA and 21 saves in 2021.
A 2016 NL All-Star with the Mets, Familia led the majors that year with 51 saves. He has only 43 saves since 2016 and only one last season in 65 games with the Mets.
GUARDIANS: Major League Baseball’s lengthy lockout this winter didn’t have any impact on Shane Bieber’s wedding plans. He’s still happily getting hitched.
It didn’t alter his desire for a long-term union with the Guardians, either.
The 2020 Cy Young Award winner, limited to just 16 starts last season due to a right shoulder strain, said Tuesday he remains open to signing a long-term contract with Cleveland.
“I love the organization. I love the people,” Bieber said after the Guardians held their first full-squad workout in Goodyear, Arizona. “I love the relationships, and am always open to discussing something and figuring something out.”
The 26-year-old, who has quickly become one of baseball’s elite pitchers, is arbitration eligible – salaries for the 2022 will be exchanged next week – for the next three seasons.
CUBS: Chicago finalized a $4 million, one-year contract with slick-fielding shortstop Andrelton Simmons.
A native of Curacao selected by Atlanta Braves in the second round of the 2010 amateur draft, Simmons had his best season in 2017 when he hit .278 with 14 home runs, 69 RBIs, 38 doubles and 19 stolen bases. His .981 career fielding percentage ranks third best in among active shortstops, and his range at a vital position makes him an analytics favorite.
NATIONALS: Stephen Strasburg doesn’t intend to push his recovery from thoracic outlet surgery to be ready for Opening Day.
“I think for me it’s about sticking to the program,” the Washington Nationals pitcher said after facing hitters for the first time since the operation last summer.
“My routine is having a six-week spring training. I think of all years to try and be aggressive, I don’t know if it’s necessarily the right year or the right time to do it. My goal is to be ready when I’m ready and be there the rest of the way.”
He threw two- and four-seam fastballs, curveballs and changeups to Victor Robles, Lane Thomas, Juan Soto and Josh Bell.
“I thought he looked really, really good,” catcher Riley Adams said. “Good command of all his pitches.”
Strasburg came off the mound smiling.
“It was definitely exciting,” he said. “You can throw bullpens all you want, but as soon as you get a hitter in there, the competitive juices start to flow. That’s kind of one thing I’ve been lacking for a bit. It’s nice to get that feeling back and get accustomed to it again.”
The 33-year-old right-hander was MVP of the 2019 World Series for the Nationals after going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA. He was 0-1 in two starts during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, then 1-2 with a 4.57 in five starts in 2021, the last on June 1.
BLUE JAYS: Yusei Kikuchi threw a 40-pitch bullpen session, one day after the left-hander joined what projects as formidable Toronto Blue Jays rotation that includes Hyun Jin Ryu and Alek Manoah.
Kikuchi’s $36 million, three-year deal was finalized Monday.
“I was one of the guys that went like, ‘Yes!’ when he got him,” Blue Jays Manager Charlie Montoyo said as he pumped his fist. “I know what he wants, he wants to win.”
Kikuchi played catch at the Blue Jays’ complex Monday despite arriving in Florida around 4 a.m.
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