Through the first two months of the season, Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo was off to one of his best starts in years. Then, a strange and—until Thursday—undetected injury occurred, and the 33-year-old hasn’t been the same since.
The team placed Rizzo on the 10-day injured list with post concussion syndrome, manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Thursday. The trouble stems from a May 28 incident in which Rizzo’s head was run into by San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. while Tatis was running back to first base on a pickoff attempt.
Boone said that Rizzo underwent standard concussion protocol at that time and passed all the necessary tests, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. He recently told the team’s medical staff that he was experiencing “fogginess,” which prompted further examination and revealed “signs of cognitive impairment.”
Anthony Rizzo is going on the IL with a "likely concussion" that they're traced back to the Tatis Jr. incident in late May
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 3, 2023
(via @ChrisKirschner) pic.twitter.com/N9RpgYpqUF
Through May 28, Rizzo was batting .304/.376/.505 over 53 games, with 11 home runs. In the 48 games since, he’s hitting a mere .172/.271/.225, with just one homer and seven extra-base hits.
Boone said Rizzo’s status will be evaluated on a “week-to-week” basis, and offered no specific timetable for his return. The Yankees entered play on Thursday in last place in the American League East with a 56–52 record.
