Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo have turned down the Yankees‘ qualifying offers, which would have brought each player back on a one-year, $19.65 million deal.
Judge accepting the qualifying offer was never really a possibility, as the star slugger is set to cash in on his historic 62-homer season with a monstrous multi-year contract, either in New York or elsewhere.
Rizzo, who opted out of his contract earlier this offseason, and Judge could still obviously return to the Yankees on new deals, but if they choose to sign with another team, the Yankees will receive draft pick compensation.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Astros have identified Rizzo as their No. 1 free agent target, which would obviously provide another bat and improved defense at first base for the defending World Series champs.
The 33-year-old Rizzo slashed .224/.338/.480 with 32 homers and 75 RBI for the Yanks last season, while also finishing as a Gold Glove finalist.