It has been a brutal offseason for the Chicago Cubs. Gone are Kyle Schwarber, Jon Lester, and Yu Darvish and they didn't really add anything noteworthy outside of Joc Pederson. The Kris Bryant rumors ran on for a while but he's still a Cub (for now) and the Willson Contreras rumors had many thinking a full-on rebuild was on the horizon. While the Cubs kept those two, and return most of the core from a team that underwhelmed in 2020. The heart and soul of the team, Anthony Rizzo, believes this may be his last season in the Cubbies uniform and it has fans panicked before the season has even started.
Anthony Rizzo confirms that contract talks with the Cubs have stalled to the point where there will likely be no pre-Opening Day extension, increasing the odds that he will play out the final season of his deal and test the free-agent market.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) March 29, 2021
Anthony Rizzo says no new contract is on the horizon. He will not talk contract during the season.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) March 29, 2021
Rizzo said he can’t tell what the future holds but is looking at this as his last year as a Cub.
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) March 29, 2021
This would be absolutely devastating to Chicago.
Javy Baez is flashier, Bryant is the former MVP, Contreras has the cannon of an arm, but Rizzo is the pulse. Letting Rizzo walk would all but end this run the Cubs have with the current core intact.
Bruce Levine's tweet about Rizzo saying he's looking at this as his last year in the Windy City is tough. The Cubs have been reluctant to shell out big boy deals in the last couple of years as they look to cutback. It hasn't gone over well with fans who have questioned why a big market team appears to be taking a small market approach.
Rizzo hit 11 homeruns and had 24 RBI's in a shortened season a year ago. In his last full season, in 2019. the Cubs first-baseman hit .293 with 27 homeruns and 94 RBI's in 146 games played.
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