The New York Yankees have been dealing with a lot of injury issues over the last few years. Last year was the height of it when the top sluggers and even some of the pitchers were on the Injured List for a while. The NY side could not do much about it in 2023, as almost half of their roster was not 100% healthy. Most importantly, hitters like Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, and Giancarlo Stanton’s absence was a big blow to the Bronx Bombers last season.
Then, again, in 2024, since the spring training, key players like DJ LeMahieu and Gerrit Cole were on the 60-day Injured List. Later, almost after two months of the regular season, Anthony Rizzo, the first baseman hurt himself again. Last year, he had to deal with post-concussion issues. But this season, he hurt his arm bad. Lately, the Yankees gave an update on Rizzo’s recovery status.
Yankees Gave Major Update On Anthony Rizzo
The Yankees first baseman is still working on his recovery. It has been a couple of months already since Rizzo fractured his arm after an ugly collision. He is 34 years old and is on the IL since June 16. That day, the Bronx Bombers lost to their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox. During that loss, Anthony Rizzo collided with Brennan Bernardino, the Red Sox reliever, as he tried his best to beat a ground ball to the first base. On Wednesday, the Yankees had a doubleheader. Prior to that game, Aaron Boone told the media that the team is still a few weeks off before making a decision about the first baseman. Anyway, the other recovery updates about Rizzo are that he is taking live at bats against Clarke Schmidt. The pitcher is also on his way back to the lineup.
Moreover, Anthony Rizzo was struggling for a whole month before his injury in mid-June. In June, he had a disappointing batting average of .104. Over 54 plate appearances, Rizzo had a .373 OPS and a home run. Moreover, the first baseman had been struggling since the start of the 2024 regular season. Whenever Anthony Rizzo gets ready to return to the lineup, the Yankees will have to make an interesting choice regarding who will be their first baseman for most of the remaining games. Ben Rice, DJ LeMahieu, and Rizzo will fight for the first baseman position.
Who’ll Be The First Baseman Then?
Considering the lack of consistency from their first baseman, the Yankees will face a tough decision to choose from Rizzo, Rice, and DJ. But it seems like they won’t have three options to choose from for the following few weeks. Lately, the Bronx Bombers have been using DJ LeMahieu and Ben Rice alternatively for the 1-B position. Against RHPs, Ben Rice has been the overall better hitter amongst the three 1-B options with 113 OPS+.
However, against the left-handed pitchers, Rice has struggled a lot with 56 OPS+. On the other hand, DJ LeMahieu has struggled against RHPs with .551 OPS and LHPs with .445 OPS in the current season. At present, Aaron Boone has been using DJ as a late-inning defensive substitute.
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