Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo: ‘Luxury tax wasn’t meant to be a salary cap, and teams are treating it like tha

MESA, Ariz. — The question to Cubs outfielder Kyle Schwarber about how money changes people wasn’t even finished when a first baseman with rabbit ears piped in from four lockers away Wednesday.

‘‘Money talks,’’ Anthony Rizzo said, smiling.

If that wasn’t a tone-setter for the start of Cubs spring training, consider it at least another voice in a growing chorus of players critical of the game’s economic squeeze on salaries — and more focused on upcoming collective-bargaining negotiations than players have been in a generation.

‘‘I think the luxury tax wasn’t meant to be a salary cap, and teams are treating it like that,’’ Rizzo told the Sun-Times. ‘‘Are you sacrificing winning a championship to be under the tax threshold? Who knows? We don’t know that.’’

Nothing that would be news to us- but still something of interest to see brought up in open discussion.

Stoneman Douglas names baseball field after Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo after premiering field’s

Standing near the pitcher’s mound of his old baseball diamond, Anthony Rizzo recounted how he was cut from the Stoneman Douglas varsity baseball team.

Despite the discouraging demotion to junior varsity, Rizzo did make the Eagles’ varsity squad eventually. He was later drafted by the Boston Red Sox and became a star for the Chicago Cubs.

Now one of Major League Baseball’s top first basemen, Rizzo found a way to give back to his alma mater. The former Douglas star donated $150,000 and helped raise additional funds so the school could install lights for the baseball and softball fields.

On Monday, the school debuted the lights and named the baseball field Anthony Rizzo Field.

Cubs pick up Anthony Rizzo’s 2020 option

Jon Heyman reports that the Cubs have picked up their 2020 club option for first baseman Anthony Rizzo at $16.5 million. The Cubs also hold a club option for the 2021 season at $16.5 million.

Rizzo, 30, had another terrific season for the Cubs in 2019, batting .293/.405/.520 with 27 home runs, 94 RBI, and 89 runs scored across 613 plate appearances. Towards the end of the season, as the Cubs went on a losing streak that pushed them out of playoff contention, Rizzo dealt with a sprained ankle. He has otherwise been quite durable in his eight seasons with the Cubs.

Not particularly surprising, is it?