New team reportedly enters potential Anthony Rizzo sweepstakes

First baseman Anthony Rizzo could once again find himself on the open market, this time on the heels of a successful stint with the Yankees.

He faces a crucial decision in the coming days. The Yankees offered him the one-year, $19.65M qualifying offer that he has until 4:00 p.m. ET Tuesday to either accept or decline. Should he decline, he will officially become a free agent once again.

While Rizzo has been widely expected to re-up with New York, there will be no shortage of clubs looking to acquire his services in free agency if he makes it that far. MLB Trade Rumors recently posted their Top 50 Free Agent Predictions and each of the four panelists voted in favor of Rizzo's return to the Bronx.

In a lengthy piece covering a multitude of free-agent rumors, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Houston Astros are in on Rizzo. Not only is the club "in" on him, but they have seemingly deemed him their No. 1 target at first base for next season and beyond.

The fit on paper is absolutely there, as the Astros are set to lose both Yuri Gurriel (-0.3 bWAR, .242 AVG) and Trey Mancini (-0.5 bWAR, .176 AVG with Houston) in free agency, leaving both the unproven 1B J.J. Matijevic (-0.1 bWAR, .209 AVG) and C/1B Yainer Díaz (-0.1 bWAR, .125 AVG) atop the depth chart at the position.

The 33-year-old Rizzo hit 32 home runs in 2022, driving in 75 runs while scoring 77 of his own. He also posted an OPS+ of 131, meaning he was 31% better than the average big leaguer, his highest mark in that regard since 2019.

Rizzo marks the second former Cub player receiving interest from the Astros, as Jon Heyman recently reported that the club is eyeing catcher Willson Contreras as well.