New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo is now considered a long shot to play in the American League Divisional Series after suffering a fractured finger on his right hand during his team's eventual 9-4 Saturday loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Sunday. Boone had previously expressed hope that Rizzo would be able to handle the pain and return in time for New York's first playoff series
Anthony Rizzo has a fractured finger, Aaron Boone said. “We’ll see what we have as the week moves forward. It doesn’t totally rule him out. It’s a pain tolerance thing.”
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) September 28, 2024
Rizzo suffered the injury when he was struck on the hand by a Ryan Borucki slider in the seventh inning:
Rizzo in a lot of pain after this hit by pitch but he stays in the game pic.twitter.com/65zONns19U
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 28, 2024
Rizzo remained in the game to run the bases. However, he was lifted after the frame and replaced by Oswaldo Cabrera, who moved over from shortstop. Anthony Volpe took Cabrera's vacated spot at short.
The 35-year-old Rizzo, who went 1 for 2 at the plate before leaving the game, batted .228/.301/.335 on the season with nine home runs in 92 games. That's not strong production for a first baseman, and it comes after Rizzo's disappointing 2023. The injury is nonetheless significant because Rizzo, when healthy, is a lineup regular for the Yankees, and the Yankees are headed to the postseason as the American League East champs.
With Rizzo unavailable on Sunday, the Yankees started Ben Rice at first base. Rice, 25, had hit .174/.269/.356 (76 OPS+) with seven home runs and 23 runs batted in over the course of his first 49 games played.
The Yankees secured a first-round bye and the AL's top seed, meaning they get to skip the wild-card round entirely. Instead, the Yankees will play whichever team wins the best-of-three series between the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals. The Orioles and Royals will kick off that series come Tuesday.
