NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo will miss the AL Division Series against Kansas City because of fractured fingers that he thinks will heal in time for him to rejoin the team for the Championship Series if New York advances.
RIzzo fractured the fourth and fifth fingers when hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Ryan Borucki last Saturday. He said he hit and fielded Friday.
“You don’t really know what fingers you squeeze with your glove until you have two broken ones,” he said ahead of Saturday's opener.
A three-time All-Star and a 2016 World Series champion with the Chicago Cubs, the 35-year-old hit .228 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 92 games during an injury-wrecked season.
“Gutting through it, I wouldn’t be able to be my best version defensively or offensively,” he said. “I had to be honest with myself, and it's tough but this team has a different aura right now and a different energy that I’m confident hopefully in the next round to join them.”
If the Yankees advance, they would open the Championship Series on Oct. 14.
Rookie Ben Rice or Oswaldo Cabrera are the likely starters at first base against the Royals. Rice, 25, hit .171 with seven homers and 23 RBIs in 50 games with the Yankees, including a three-homer game against Boston on July 6. A catcher coming up through the Yankees system, Rice has been getting tips from Rizzo.
“Just kind of picking his brain about certain things like when we're just doing fungos, like, hey, `If the ball's hit this way or that way, how should I approach that?'” Rice said.
Cabrera, 25, batted .247 with eight homers and 36 RBIs in 108 games.
Rizzo said staff figured out how best to wrap around his hand in his glove.
“Just catching balls at a high velocity definitely hurts it more than it should,” he said. “Talking to the doctors hopefully with another 10 days or a week I’ll feel significantly better.”
Rizzo missed 62 games with a fractured right forearm after colliding with Boston reliever Brennan Bernardino on June 16. He batted .380 (8 for 21) after returning from the injured list on Sept. 1.
“It’s definitely nowhere near what my elbow was,” Rizzo said. “It's literally 20 hours a day doing treatment. All the trainers, physical therapists is like, man, if people in PT school knew how much you were doing, they’d be absolutely shocked. So it’s all good stuff. It’s just, unfortunately, just not enough time.”
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