New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo’s status for the postseason is uncertain after he fractured the fourth and fifth fingers on his right hand when he was hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Ryan Borucki during the seventh inning of Saturday’s 9-4 loss to the Pirates.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it’s too soon to know if Rizzo will be ready to play in the AL Division Series opener on October 5.
“We’ll see what we have as the week moves forward. It doesn’t totally rule him out,” Boone said. “Something that is a pain-tolerance thing. So we’ll see as the days unfold here what we have.”
Rizzo was hit on the bottom of his hand by Borucki’s slider, marking the 222nd time a pitch has hit him in his career. He showed signs of pain but stayed in the game after being checked by head athletic trainer Tim Lentych.
After the Yankees batted in the seventh inning, Oswaldo Cabrera moved from shortstop to Rizzo’s position, and Anthony Volpe came in to play shortstop.
Earlier in the season, Rizzo missed 62 games due to a fractured right forearm after a collision with Red Sox reliever Brennan Bernardino on June 16 at Fenway Park. He has a batting average of .228 with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 92 games this season, including a .380 average (8 for 21) since coming back from the injured list on September 1.
Oswaldo Cabrera and rookie Ben Rice are potential replacements for Rizzo. Rice hit .175 with seven homers and 23 RBIs in 49 games while Rizzo was out.
Boone did not mention DJ LeMahieu, who has not played since September 3 due to a right hip issue.
This injury adds to the challenges for the Yankees during the last week of the regular season. Left-hander Nestor Cortes also went on the injured list because of a flexor strain in his pitching elbow, but both he and the team are hopeful he could return during the postseason.
