Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) following Saturday’s loss to the Pirates that first baseman Anthony Rizzo sustained two fractured fingers when he was struck by a pitch from Pittsburgh lefty Ryan Borucki. Hoch later added that, per Boone, the first baseman had actually fractured both his fourth and fifth fingers on his right hand. Rizzo exited the game following the incident, and it’s not yet clear when he’ll be able to return to the diamond. As noted by Hoch, Boone did not rule Rizzo out for the club’s upcoming postseason push.
“We’ll see what we have as the week moves forward,” Boone said. “It doesn’t totally rule him out. It’s a pain tolerance thing.”
It’s the latest injury-related setback for Rizzo in what has become a series of frustrating injuries during his tenure with the Yankees. After an eight-season stretch in Chicago where Rizzo was rarely injured, appearing in 94% of the Cubs’ regular season games from 2013 to his trade to the Bronx in 2021, the veteran first baseman has been far less available throughout his tenure with the Yankees. While he managed 130 games in his first full season with the club in 2022, his past two years have been marred with post-concussion syndrome and a fractured forearm that both set him down for multiple months, leaving him to appear in less than 60% of the club’s contests over the past two years…