New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo left his team’s loss early Sunday to the Boston Red Sox after an awkward collision while running the bases.
He is now expected to miss at least two months.
Rizzo suffered a fracture to the radial neck of his right arm Sunday night in Boston, the team confirmed Tuesday while officially placing him on the injured list. However, Rizzo will not require surgery and expects to return at some point this season.
“I’ve never experienced this before,” Rizzo said Tuesday via ESPN. “This is my first broken bone, a broken bone, so I’m assuming I’ll heal quickly with the treatment we’re getting, but we’ll see how it feels.”
Rizzo hit a ground ball in the seventh inning of Sunday’s 9-3 loss and immediately shot to first base. As he reached the bag, he collided with Red Sox reliever Brennan Bernardino and landed awkwardly on his right wrist – which he immediately grabbed as he rolled into the grass.
Rizzo was safe, as Bernardino dropped the toss just before contact, but was quickly taken out of the game. He was replaced by pinch runner Oswaldo Cabrera.
“We’ll see,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday night. ‘The first imaging… was negative, but he has pain in a number of places in his forearm. Obviously he’s going to have a lot of tests tomorrow to see what we’re dealing with.
Rizzo, 34, has a .223 batting average and has eight home runs and 28 RBI this season, his third full year with the Yankees. Sunday’s injury was reminiscent of the one he suffered last year when he collided with Fernando Tatis Jr. at first base. As a result, his season ended prematurely due to post-concussion syndrome.
Although the Yankees trailed by just one run when Rizzo left the game, the Red Sox flew ahead and took a six-run victory at Fenway Park, thanks in part to Connor Wong’s two-run triple in the bottom of the seventh. Boston had an incredible nine stolen bases in the win, the most in the league in a single game this season and the most the Yankees have allowed since 1915.
The Yankees have since drafted prospect Ben Rice to replace Rizzo on their roster. He is expected to start at first base and bat sixth in the lineup Tuesday night when the Yankees open a series with the Baltimore Orioles.
“It’s not ideal, but it just depends on how you look at it, right?” Rizzo said. “This is part of it. The team is in a great position. Obviously there’s nothing better than playing baseball. That’s what we love to do. But right now it’s about focusing on getting better, coming back and helping.”
