Ever since the New York Yankees declined to exercise their team option on veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the club has been shopping around for a player who can take over the position without losing offensive production. They may also be looking to do it while saving money. Rizzo would have been paid $17 million in 2025.
Now, according to longtime Major League Baseball insider journalist Jon Heyman, the Yankees are “considering” a move that would bring them a replacement who would cost them $14.2 million next season, while bringing a significant upgrade in production, at least in comparison to Rizzo’s struggles in 2024.
But if the Yankees actually go ahead and make the deal that they reportedly have under consideration, they would likely need to offer a contract extension to the new first baseman, one estimated to cost about $100 million over five years.
Yankees ‘Considering’ Deal for Josh Naylor
The player reportedly being looked at by the Yankees is Cleveland Guardians 27-year-old left-handed slugger Josh Naylor. Heyman offered no speculation on what sort of package the Yankees would offer to Cleveland — the team New York defeated in the 2024 American League Championship Series to get to the World Series in 2024 — in exchange for Naylor.
An earlier proposal floated by Yankees-watchers called for sending the organization’s fifth-ranked prospect Will Warren, who was picked by the Yankees in the eighth round of the 2021 draft.
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