New York Yankees First Baseman Anthony Rizzo Still Sidelined in Lead Up to ALDS

Anthony Rizzo has yet to resume baseball activities, per Brian Cashman, meaning the New York Yankees will have to sort through other options at first base at the start of their postseason run.

Sep 10, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo (48) looks back after striking out during the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

With the Game 1 of the ALDS two days away, New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo is still a way’s off from returning to the lineup.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke about Rizzo’s status on Thursday, less than a week after the 35-year-old slugger was hit by a pitch and suffered two fractured fingers on his right hand. It was already expected that the injury would cost Rizzo the ALDS, but considering Cashman said that he had yet to resume baseball activities, Rizzo’s status throughout the rest of the postseason has been brought into question as well.

“He’s gonna be trying to beat the turnaround time, typically, for that,” Cashman said. “But as I said, you treat the patient, not necessarily the MRI or the X-ray. And he is presenting well without doing activities thus far, so it’s giving us maybe a glimmer of – I wouldn’t say hope, but glimmer of ‘Hm, we’ll see. Let’s talk further about this down the line as we get closer to having to make the final decision.'”

Cashman said Ben Rice and Oswaldo Cabrera were the primary alternatives to fill in for Rizzo. He also mentioned DJ LeMahieu as a potential option at first base, although the veteran has been out with a hip injury since Sept. 3.

Rizzo appeared in just 92 games throughout the 2024 regular season, missing more than two months with a fractured radial neck in his right arm. He hit .228 with eight home runs, 35 RBI, a .637 OPS and 0.2 WAR when he was active, all of which were his worst marks since his rookie year in 2011.

Still, Rizzo is one of just two players on the Yankees’ roster with a World Series ring, helping to take the Chicago Cubs all the way in 2016. In 49 career postseason appearances, Rizzo is a .218 hitter with nine home runs, 27 RBI and a .724 OPS, totaling a 31.4% Championship Win Probability Added in those games.

Rizzo has played in 10 playoff games since arriving in the Bronx in 2021. He has hit .273 with three home runs, nine RBI and a 1.021 OPS in those contests, even though the Yankees have gone 3-7 in that span.

Game 1 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Kansas City Royals is scheduled to get underway on Saturday at 6:38 p.m. ET. New York will have to announce its official roster for the series earlier in the day, which will likely reveal their plans at first base.