Yankees 1B Anthony Rizzo shut down for season due to concussion
The former All-Star might have sustained the concussion all the way back in May
New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo is finished for the season due to one of the league's more curious injuries this year.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Tuesday that the veteran infielder will be shut down for the remainder of 2023 due to the concussion he might've sustained all the way back in May, according to the Associated Press. Rizzo has been on the 10-day injured list since Aug. 3.
Boone said Rizzo was making progress, but not enough to play again, via the AP:
"Anthony is going to be shut down for the year,” New York manager Aaron Boone said before Tuesday night’s game against Detroit. “I would say everything is going well. His most recent checkup was all of the things we’re looking for as far as there’s improvements and where he is, but still hadn’t been cleared yet to play.
“So they want to do at least another checkup in probably another couple of weeks. So we were just kind of up against the clock, but he’s continuing to work out. He’s continuing to make all the right cognitive improvements.”
The injury that might've caused the concussion occurred May 28, when Rizzo collided with San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. on a pick-off play at first base. Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka caught Tatis on a pick-off attempt, but Rizzo stumbled away from the play and went down on one knee.
Replays show Rizzo's head colliding with Tatis' thigh:
Yankees Anthony Rizzo was pulled from the game after getting injured tagging out Fernando Tatis Jr. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/jGQJd6htFQ
— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) May 28, 2023
Rizzo was initially diagnosed with a stiff neck and passed MLB's concussion test, allowing him to return days later without a trip to the IL. By the time August rolled around, however, Boone said Rizzo complained about being "foggy," which led to additional testing. Those tests showed "some cognitive impairment," leading to Rizzo's stint on the IL.
Before the injury, Rizzo was hitting .304/.376/.505, on pace for his best season in years. In the 46 games after, he hit .172/.271/.225 in 192 plate appearances.
Losing Rizzo was one more piece of bad news in a season Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has called a "disaster." Injuries have abounded for the last-place Yankees, who are also without Nestor Cortes, Jose Trevino and Frankie Montas for the rest of the season and have seen many of their top players, most notably Aaron Judge, miss at least a month due to injury.
