At the start of 2024, just 4 percent of MLB position players were older than 35.

Former Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo is 35 and currently a free agent as spring training games start across the league. Anyone in his shoes would mull the possibility of retirement — and Rizzo is no exception.

“I’ve definitely thought about it. I think I have a lot to give to the game still,” Rizzo told The Athletic. “But at the same time, if teams are not going to want to pay a few million dollars for veterans, I’ve seen it the last 10 years of my career. It’s what happens to the older guys. They kind of get squeezed.”

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Rizzo, who left the Cubs in a 2021 trade, played fewer than 100 games in each of the last two seasons with the New York Yankees, largely because of injury.

In 2023, Rizzo suffered a concussion against the San Diego Padres in late May. Before the injury, he had a .304 batting average with 11 home runs in 53 games played. After the injury, he hit .176 with only one home run in 46 games played.

Rizzo was hit by the injury bug again in 2024, missing time with a broken forearm and broken fingers. While he hit .228 during the regular season, the former World Series champion put up a .721 OPS in 10 playoff games while helping the Yankees reach the World Series.

Rizzo still believes he has more in the tank, and has said he wants to continue playing, but he’s also a realist about his situation.

“I’m surprised, but not like crazy surprised just because I’m a realist in the game and you’re getting older,” he told The Athletic. “The fact that teams want you to play for basically league minimum ($760,000), I’m like, you guys are crazy. You’re almost trying to ruin the market for the next guy.”