BOSTON – The Yankees are hoping for the best after Anthony Rizzo exited Sunday’s 9-3 loss in the seventh inning with a right lower arm injury.
Rizzo, running out a groundball, collided with Red Sox reliever Brennan Bernardino at first base after the pitcher dropped a throw. The two banged hips, and Rizzo landed on his arm and grabbed his wrist area while lying on the ground.
“When he didn’t get up right away, I could tell he was in some pain down on the ground,” Aaron Boone said. “So obviously concern there.”
Anthony Rizzo left the game after this collision at first base. pic.twitter.com/ee4gurvVFR
— ESPN (@espn) June 17, 2024
Rizzo was not available for comment after the game. Boone said that an initial fluoroscope, a low-grade X-ray, came back clean. Still, the first baseman will see team physicians and undergo more imaging in New York on Monday while the Yankees are off.
“He’s in some pain in that kind of lower arm in a number of places,” the manager added. “So obviously he’ll get a lot of tests tomorrow and see what we’re dealing with.
“Hopefully we dodged something, but we’ll have to see.”
Rizzo went 0-for-3 on Sunday, but he had put together a few good performances following a two-game benching and an 0-for-5 return to the lineup on June 11.
From June 12-15, Rizzo went 4-for-11 (.364) with one home run, three RBI, four walks and two strikeouts. Prior to that, he had been in a 1-for-34 (.029) slump.
He is now hitting .223 with a .630 OPS, eight home runs and 28 RBI.
“You never like seeing somebody come out of a game and get injured,” said Aaron Judge, who is close friends with Rizzo. “But I think once we get an idea of what’s going on with him, he’ll be right back out there doing his thing. Past couple games, last week or so, the guy’s been swinging the bat well and come up with some big hits.”
Rizzo is no stranger to collisions, as a run-in with the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. left the veteran with post-concussion symptoms last season. Those symptoms went undiagnosed for two months, and Rizzo largely hasn’t been the same player since.
Rizzo has insisted that the concussion is behind him, and he said that he was generally healthy during his recent cold streak.
However, Sunday’s impact left him banged up at the very least.
“You don’t see that from Rizz usually,” Judge said. “He leads all [active players] with hit-by-pitches, so he knows what it is dealing with pain. But he’s tough. I think he’ll be fine. I don’t know what’s going on, but he’ll be good.”
If Rizzo misses times, the Yankees have a few internal options.
DJ LeMahieu can handle first, which would give Oswaldo Cabrera more opportunities at third. At Triple-A, there’s Ben Rice, the Yankees’ 12th-best prospect, and T.J. Rumfield.
Both prospects are having strong seasons at the plate, but neither is on the 40-man roster. Rice also has limited experience at first and at Triple-A. Rizzo may have to miss significant time for the Yankees to go down those paths.
With LeMahieu available at first, the team wouldn’t necessarily need to promote a traditional first baseman, either. For example, the Yankees could add the versatile Kevin Smith back to the 40-man roster. While that’s not an exciting idea, he’s already been on the major league squad a few times this season.
There’s also the possibility of acquiring someone from outside the organization. Even before Sunday’s collision, Rizzo’s poor offensive numbers fueled speculation that the Yankees could trade for a corner infielder before the deadline.
