Anthony Rizzo injury throws another aggravating wrench in Yankees' playoff plans

Adam Weinrib

Pittsburgh Pirates v New York Yankees / Dustin Satloff/GettyImages

The New York Yankees, with just over a week to play in the regular season and a playoff spot clinched, seemed to be hurtling towards the MLB playoffs at a remarkably healthy clip. Then, as it always does, fate intervened.

First, it was reliever Jake Cousins, who left with a pectoral muscle issue during the day game after the initial clinch. He believes he's fine, but he hasn't pitched since (and was losing control prior to the diagnosis anyway). Then came Nestor Cortes Jr., set to be a crucial playoff swingman, who came down with a barking left elbow. He won't be available until the ALCS, but don't expect him at all.

And then, on Saturday, right as rain, Anthony Rizzo was bitten by some additional bad luck.

Frankly, it's stunning that the Yankees made it through a relatively meaningless Game 161 in the rain against Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates with only one postseason-changing injury. Instead of escaping unscathed -- because why would they have a little bit of luck? -- Anthony Rizzo was struck on the hand with a pitch during the seventh inning of a game the Yankees were limply trailing 6-2.

After the game, it was revealed he suffered a fracture in his hand/finger after missing several months with a wrist fracture. Manager Aaron Boone called it a "pain tolerance" issue, and left the door open for the first baseman to make the playoff roster anyway. Who wants to bet on that?

Anthony Rizzo has a fractured finger, Aaron Boone said. “We’ll see what we have as the week moves forward. It doesn’t totally rule him out. It’s a pain tolerance thing.”
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) September 28, 2024

Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo exits loss to Pirates with fractured finger

At least -- at least -- when Boone spoke about potential replacements, he mentioned Oswaldo Cabrera and Ben Rice, and did not mention DJ LeMahieu, who's reportedly been working his way back into shape. That would've really added insult to injury.

Though Rizzo looked lost through the early portion of this season, he'd hit .364 with a .500 OBP over the past week, and his sturdy glove had stabilized the Yankees' otherwise skittish infield defense with scoop after scoop. That's the kind of guiding hand a team might want during the postseason. Needless to say, this represents another crucial bit of depth and stability lost during the most important time of year, on yet another freak play that did not go the Yankees' way.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.