Cubs re-signing Anthony Rizzo on a short-term pact is ‘possible’

When the World Series wrapped up last fall, hope remained in the hearts of Cubs fans. Perhaps Jed Hoyer would be willing and able to bring back some of the core he traded away during the summer. Since, Javier Baez inked a six-year pact with the Tigers and the possibility of a reunion with Kris Bryant seems near-impossible at this point.

A sliver of that hope remains when it comes to Anthony Rizzo, though, and a comment from MLB insider Bruce Levine on 670 The Score’s Inside the Clubhouse this weekend will only further that tenuous optimism. Here’s the exchange between Levine and David Haugh.

"Haugh: We mentioned [Kris Bryant], and that’s kind of silly to think about him coming to Chicago – on either side of town. But I did read a headline, I think it was BleacherNation.com, asking the question rhetorically about Anthony Rizzo and the Cubs having a reunion, what do you think about some of those possibilities?Levine: I’ve heard that’s possible. I’ve heard that it’s not out of the realm of giving a two or three-year contract. What if you heard, once the lockout ends, that the Cubs signed Rizzo to a two-year, $40M contract with a third year option. Would that be shocking to you?"

Last spring, Rizzo turned down a five-year, $70 million overture from the team – and halted any future talks once the season started. Of course, to that point, he’d played his entire Cubs career on a very team-friendly seven-year, $41 million contract – so he was looking to get paid for everything he’d done to that point.

A four-time Gold Glover, Platinum Glove recipient, Silver Slugger, three-time All-Star and leader of the 2016 World Series champions, Rizzo has left an indelible mark on the Cubs organization. In the years leading up to 2021, it felt almost like a foregone conclusion: Chicago would extend the first baseman and make sure he finished his career a Cub. Now, of course, we don’t know what the rest of his playing days will entail – or where he’ll spend them.

We’ve got some waiting to do. The MLB lockout is showing no signs of ending anytime soon – and even when it does, Rizzo is caught up in the Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman chaos. Oakland is looking to shed payroll and re-tool, making Olson an incredibly valuable trade chip, and Freeman’s market continues to evolve, with the Yankees reportedly in on the longtime Braves superstar. 

It seems like a safe bet that whichever team misses out on Freeman will either A) pick up the phone and call Billy Beane on Olson and/or B) talk turkey with Rizzo’s camp, depending on the specific club’s situation.

For example, if Freeman went to the Bronx, Atlanta is probably going to be sitting down with Rizzo. We know they chatted prior to the lockout, which is somewhat surprising because everyone assumed the Braves would lock up Freeman on the heels of the team’s 2021 World Series title.

Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo makes sense for a team in need of leadership

But circling back to the idea of Rizzo coming back to the Cubs. Two years at $20 million annually feels awfully steep, but given there’s hardly any substantive money on the books during that span, there’s no risk involved – at least not in the long-term, franchise-crippling sense. It would give a very young ball club its veteran leader back, reuniting him with manager David Ross – and that price tag is likely to intrigue the Florida native.

Of course, once the lockout ends and free agency resumes, it’s going to be absolute chaos. There could be other teams outside of the Cubs, Yankees and Braves interested in Rizzo. But, as has been the case for the last two months, all we can do right now is wait.