The New York Yankees‘ August slide can be attributed to a number of things, injuries being one of them.
They lost reliever Clay Holmes for a short amount of time, Matt Carpenter fractured his foot, and Nestor Cortes is also currently on the injured list.
Anthony Rizzo has also been one of several key Yankee players who have struggled to stay healthy this past month.
It started when the Yankees were in St. Louis and Rizzo was a late scratch from the lineup due to back troubles.
According to Yankees beat reporter Bryan Hoch, those issues have resurfaced.
Rizzo is currently still out in California to see a back specialist, which could take him out for the upcoming weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Anthony Rizzo remained behind in California to see a back specialist and could miss the weekend series at Tampa Bay, Aaron Boone said on @TMKSESPN.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 2, 2022
Rizzo Could Miss Rays Series
Without Rizzo, the Yankees lineup takes on a completely different look, and not for the better.
Despite his average being down, Rizzo has a chance to have his first 30+ home run season since back in 2017.
Any time without him is a problem for the Yankees, even with all of their other stars.
In addition to being that left-handed, middle of the order threat, Rizzo is also a solid defensive first baseman, having won a Gold Glove back in 2018.
Without him, the Yankees are going to have to get creative at first base.
Perhaps Josh Donaldson could play a little there.
What’s more likely is that DJ LeMahieu will get the bulk of the playing time without Rizzo.
It especially hurts given that the Yankees are playing the Rays, who are red-hot and have come to within six games of them for first place in the AL East.
The Yankees hope Rizzo will be good to go for this all-important series, but with lingering back issues, that has come into question.
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