Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo will not play in the AL Division Series against Kansas City because he has fractured fingers. He believes his fingers will heal in time for him to return for the Championship Series if the Yankees move on.
Rizzo hurt his fourth and fifth fingers when he was hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Ryan Borucki last Saturday. He mentioned that he managed to hit and field on Friday.
“You don’t really know what fingers you squeeze with your glove until you have two broken ones,” he said before Saturday’s game.
A three-time All-Star and a 2016 World Series champion with the Chicago Cubs, the 35-year-old had a tough season, hitting .228 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 92 games due to injuries.
“Gutting through it, I wouldn’t be able to be my best version defensively or offensively,” he explained. “I had to be honest with myself, and it’s tough but this team has a different aura right now and a different energy that I’m confident hopefully in the next round to join them.”
If the Yankees move forward, they would start the Championship Series on October 14.
Rookie Ben Rice or Oswaldo Cabrera are expected to start at first base against the Royals. Rice, 25, had a batting average of .171 with seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 50 games with the Yankees, including a three-homer game against Boston on July 6. As a catcher working his way up in the Yankees system, Rice has been getting advice from Rizzo.
“Just kind of picking his brain about certain things like when we’re just doing fungos, like, hey, ‘If the ball’s hit this way or that way, how should I approach that?’” Rice said.
Cabrera, also 25, had a batting average of .247 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs in 108 games.
Rizzo mentioned that the staff figured out the best way to wrap his hand for his glove.
“Just catching balls at a high velocity definitely hurts it more than it should,” he said. “Talking to the doctors, hopefully with another 10 days or a week, I’ll feel significantly better.”
