The two broken fingers on Anthony Rizzo’s right hand no longer had a protective brace or a wrap around them when he spoke to reporters on Friday night, but that didn’t stop the first baseman from announcing that he will not be on the Yankees’ ALDS roster.
“I feel good. I feel a lot better than I did six days ago,” said Rizzo, who broke his fingers on a hit-by-pitch on the second-to-last day of the regular season. But he added, “I feel like gutting through it, I wouldn’t be able to be my best version defensively or offensively. I had to be honest with myself and it’s tough, but this team has a different aura to it right now and a different energy that I’m confident, hopefully in the next round, to join them.”
After several days of treatment, Rizzo said he tried hitting and catching throws on Friday. He was encouraged with how he felt, but not to the point where he thought he could help the Yankees for their ALDS showdown against the Royals, which begins Saturday.
“You don’t really know what fingers you squeeze with in your glove until you have two broken ones,” Rizzo said with a laugh.
He noted that he made some adjustments to his first baseman’s mitt and felt good squeezing it.
With Rizzo unavailable against the Royals, Oswaldo Cabrera and Ben Rice are the Yankees’ primary candidates to start at first base. Neither are overly experienced at first, but Rizzo has been helping them and utilityman Jon Berti over the past week with the Yankees holding workouts at Yankee Stadium.
Rizzo said he’s an “open book” should they need anything, and the Yanks have expressed confidence in their options. Still, Rizzo has his heart set on playing again this season, even though his timeline would have been 3-4 weeks under normal circumstances.
Asked about possibly being 100% for the ALCS, should the Yankees advance, Rizzo said, “This time of the year, no one’s 100%. So I’ll be 100% with whatever I have and feel confident with whatever I have to give. At this point, it’s just not there.
“But I do feel confident the ALCS, I’ll be able to contribute.”
