New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo suffered a fractured finger on his right hand during his team’s eventual 9-4 Saturday loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Manager Aaron Boone, however, told reporters that the injury doesn’t necessarily mean Rizzo will be sidelined:
Rizzo suffered the injury when he was struck on the hand by a Ryan Borucki slider in the seventh inning:
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, is now batting .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.
The Yankees, who have now lost two in a row, are a half-game in front of the Cleveland Guardians in the race for top seed in the AL bracket. The Yankees have already secured a first-round bye, which, perhaps significantly for Rizzo, means they won’t play until the Division Series.
