Yankees’ Rizzo Replacement Gets $60 Million in Contract Prediction

Getty Anthony Rizzo looking ahead with eye black on

The New York Yankees have been linked to Christian Walker over the past few months. Walker would be a clear replacement for Anthony Rizzo after the team declined his club option. While Walker is getting older, he’d be an excellent piece to the Yankees, as the right-handed hitting first baseman has done nothing but get better each step of the way.

For the Yankees, saving money is important. Walker won’t be cheap, but he won’t get a contract the Yankees can’t pay. In the latest prediction from Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report, the 34-year-old landed a three-year, $60 million deal.

“Christian Walker is going to offer an interesting alternative to Pete Alonso for teams looking to add an impact first baseman this offseason. An oblique injury cost Walker a little more than a month this past season, but he still homered 26 times, drove in 84 runs and posted an .803 OPS,” Kelly wrote on November 11. “He also won his third consecutive Gold Glove at the position, posting seven defensive runs saved and 13 outs above average in more than 1,100 frames at first base for the Diamondbacks.

“Walker will turn 34 next March, which is going to limit the amount of years he gets on the open market… But Walker has been one of the best overall first basemen in baseball over the last three seasons. For a team looking to add thump, strong defense and a veteran clubhouse presence, he makes quite a bit of sense.”

Yankees Could Get Into ‘Bidding War’ for Walker

The talk of the offseason has been centered around the New York Yankees and New York Mets getting into a bidding war for Juan Soto. However, that might not be the only player both squads are fighting for.

With multiple high-end players on the market, the Yankees and Mets could battle it out more than once.

According to Bob Nightengale, there’s a real possibility of the Yankees and Mets getting into a “bidding war” for Walker despite other clubs being interested.

“There are at least six teams who plan to aggressively pursue Walker, with everyone involved from the New York Yankees to the Diamondbacks to the Washington Nationals, believing he’ll come at less than half the price of Alonso. He could ultimately be involved in bidding war between the Yankees and Mets,” Nightengale wrote on November 7.

Is Walker a $20 Million AAV Player?

Number-wise, there aren’t many first basemen in Major League Baseball than Walker. That isn’t to say he’s one of the top three players at the position, but he’s right up there with the best of them.

$20 million isn’t a ton in the modern era, but it still isn’t a cheap amount, and ultimately, the Yankees could use that $20 million for Soto.

However, having a good first baseman is important, and if the Yankees retain Soto, the idea should be to build the best team around him. Walker would give them just that, even if his price isn’t cheap.

The slugger has 95 home runs in the past three seasons and would likely be looking at more than 100 if it weren’t for an injury that kept him out last campaign.

The Yankees have the money, and without a clear Rizzo replacement in-house, Walker would be the best option.