To see Anthony Rizzo in a Red Sox jersey in 2025 would take a certain kind of mental gymnastics, part nostalgia, part amnesia. You’d have to rewind past the pinstripes, past the World Series with the Cubs, all the way back to when he was just a sixth-round pick out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in 2007.
And even then, it would still feel weird.
Because for Yankees fans, Rizzo wasn’t just another player. He became a staple of the clubhouse, steady, well-liked, even symbolic. He was the guy you imagined would stick around the Bronx, even if his days as an everyday starter were behind him. So for that guy to suddenly show up in Boston of all places? Not exactly easy on the eyes. But Rizzo’s current reality is far from sentimental.
The 35-year-old is still a free agent. His production dipped sharply after a concussion in 2023, and his once-elite defense has taken a hit, too. Since the injury, he’s been roughly 30% worse than league average at the plate. And though he’s not far removed from a two-year, $40 million deal with the Yankees, they declined his $17 million option this past winter, handing him a $6 million buyout instead.
That brings us to Boston, where the Red Sox are scrambling for answers at first base. Triston Casas is out for the season. Rafael Devers has made it clear he wants no part of a position switch. That’s left the team relying on a patchwork duo of utility players in Abraham Toro and Romy González, neither of whom inspires a ton of long-term confidence. González exited a recent game with a back issue, which only makes things murkier.
So… Rizzo? The idea makes a certain kind of sense on paper. Veteran experience. Familiar with the market. A theoretically low-cost option. But multiple reports suggest there’s nothing brewing between the two sides. Boston doesn’t seem eager. Rizzo’s asking price hasn’t come down. And the version of Rizzo available right now isn’t the one who hit 32 homers in 2022.
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More realistically, the best possible outcome for Boston would involve Devers changing his mind and taking over the position willingly. That’s the only real path to stability, and maybe even some upside. Everything else feels like a bandage.
For Rizzo, a reunion with the franchise that drafted him would make for a neat full-circle story. But that’s all it would be, a story. Right now, both sides seem to be living in a different one.
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