Anthony Rizzo Heads To The Injured List As Yankees’ Divisional Lead Continues To Shrink

Pain for the New York Yankees continues, as the team got some bad news surrounding its starting first baseman.

Anthony Rizzo is heading to the 10-day injured list, according to the team’s manager Aaron Boone.

While Rizzo has been dealing with a back issue for weeks, the reason for the stint is because of headaches.

Boone noted that he will have additional testing to determine the cause of the throbbing pain.

“He’s still under doctor’s orders to rest,” Boone said. 

But he added it “seems like the back is good.”

Rizzo hasn’t played since August 30 and also missed sometime in July with a back injury. 

Last week, Rizzo reportedly saw a back specialist in California. 

The unfortunate news for the Yankees comes as second baseman DJ LeMahieu and outfielder Giancarlo Stanton are question marks for Wednesday’s lineup.

Boone said both wouldn’t have played in tonight’s contest against the Minnesota Twins, which has been rained out.  

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On Monday, Stanton fouled a ball off his foot, but X-Rays were negative. 

LeMahieu, on the other hand, has been dealing with a nagging toe injury since August. 

If all three are forced to miss some time, that could put more pressure on Aaron Judge, who may win the American League MVP this year.

Judge leads the MLB by a wide margin in home runs – with 54. 

Plus, the Yankees have struggled in the second half of the season. 

In the past nine games, the team’s record is just 3-6. 

The Yankees’ AL east divisional lead is now down to just five games. 

Before the regular season ends, the Yankees will need to play the second-place Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays, which are 5.5 games behind them, in two separate three-game series’. 

Rizzo is batting .225 on the year with a .832 On-base plus slugging (OPS).

Article by Anthony Russo