Yankees activate Anthony Rizzo from the injured list
Yankees announced that they activated the first baseman Anthony Rizzo off the injury list, with the midfielder Estevan Florida is selected as Triple-A in a corresponding move.
It’s been a tough time for Rizzo in recent weeks, as he’s had a fine season interrupted by back pain. To deal with the pain, he was given an epidural that was supposed to keep him inactive for a few days. However, he developed an epidural migraine, so severe that he had to be on the injured list.
That back injury took a toll on Rizzo’s stellar season. As of August 3, he has done 27 home runs and scored .227 / .347 / .511. That output is 43% better than the league average, as of wRC+, which would be his highest mark since 2016. However, from that point until his IL. He only scored .212 / .297 / .394 for wRC + 96, or 4% below the league average.
Rizzo’s decline and subsequent absence coincided with a decline in the Yankees’ game, as they went 10-18 in August and so far 8-6 in September. Although they once led the AL East with 15.5 games, the Blue Jays now have only 4.5 games with more than two weeks remaining. The Yanks will no doubt hope that Rizzo’s return will put them on a good footing to keep the title and say goodbye to the final round.
After Rizzo joined IL, the club also sent DJ LeMahieu there too, making them more abbreviated in the first place. Most of the time playing there will Marwin Gonzalez recently, although he has been playing quite dizzy in recent days and then had to leave the game on Saturday after Victor Caratini hit him into the helmet with a throw back to the pitcher. Now that Rizzo is back, he will be looking to stabilize his position for the club over the long term and post-season.
New York Post’s Jon Heyman tweeted the news about the activation of Rizzo before the official announcement.