ANAHEIM, Calif. — Over two hours before the New York Yankees were scheduled to take batting practice Wednesday, first baseman Anthony Rizzo was already on the field. Assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler tossed baseballs to the three-time All-Star as hitting coach James Rowson knelt to the left side of the cage, watching each swing.
Advertisem*nt
Despite the extra efforts, Rizzo enters Friday’s game in San Francisco with the seventh-worst OPS of all players with at least 400 plate appearances since May 28, 2023, the day he collided with San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. Last season’s struggles can easily be pointed to playing for two-plus months with post-concussion syndrome. But this season, Rizzo’s .677 OPS is the sixth worst for all first basem*n with at least 150 plate appearances. He also hasn’t been crisp defensively. Rizzo was a Gold Glove finalist last season, but he ranks 17th among all first basem*n in outs above average (minus-1) and 24th among first basem*n in defensive runs saved (minus-1). His miscue in Tuesday’s game led to the Yankees blowing an eighth-inning lead over the Los Angeles Angels.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone does not believe Rizzo’s struggles, both at the plate and in the field, are because of lingering concussion issues.
“I don’t think so because he had a really great winter,” Boone said before Wednesday’s game. “Even at the end of last year, in September, he was doing really well. And then his winter was excellent. Even going back to last year, he’s in excellent shape. Even the start of the season, he’s had some runs where he’s been very good. So he’s not far from that cusp of moving that needle where he’s all of a sudden not on the bottom.”
Boone dropped Rizzo to seventh in the batting order Wednesday and said it was because of the Angels starting left-hander Tyler Anderson and wanting to split up left-handed hitter Alex Verdugo and Rizzo so they weren’t hitting back-to-back. It was the first time Rizzo has hit as low as seventh in any starting lineup since Sept. 28, 2011, when he played for the San Diego Padres. On Thursday, he was out of the lineup with Patrick Sandoval on the mound, another lefty who’s challenging against left-handed hitters.
Advertisem*nt
But dropping him in the order is justified beyond the Yankees facing a left-hander. Rizzo’s metrics are concerning. He’s in the bottom 25th percentile in barrel percentage, average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage. He’s batting just .165 on pitches 95 mph or harder, the 11th-worst mark in the American League. He has no extra-base hits in his last 58 at-bats. He has the lowest number of extra-base hits (four) against starting pitchers in MLB, according to Inside Edge.
Both Boone and Rowson believe Rizzo’s struggles at the plate are timing-related. Rowson said Rizzo’s inconsistent timing has led to him being unable to square the ball up. Poor timing is what led to Aaron Judge’s struggles in April. That’s why the Yankees think Rizzo can still turn around his numbers.
“When your timing’s not right, you would expect some of those things to not be right in line with your norms,” Rowson said of Rizzo’s numbers. “That means you’re not getting the ball right where you want to or you’re a little early or you may be a little late, and all of a sudden that’s gonna affect how you hit the ball, how the ball comes off the bat. All those things will be results of your timing being a little inconsistent.”
It seems unlikely that the Yankees would reduce Rizzo’s role if his struggles persist given that it would mean DJ LeMahieu sliding over to first base and Oswaldo Cabrera becoming the everyday third baseman once again. Rizzo is simply a better player than Cabrera, who’s better suited in a utility role.
But adding a corner infielder could come into focus as the Yankees inch closer to the trade deadline if Rizzo doesn’t turn the corner. Given how the Yankees are playing and analyzing the landscape of the American League, this is shaping up as the best chance for New York to advance to the World Series in the Judge era. The roster is that good, but the front office should prioritize improving it if opportunities arise.
Advertisem*nt
If Rowson is right, though, the Yankees won’t need to consider upgrading Rizzo’s spot at first base.
“I’ve seen him do things this year that show me at times — I like that swing and I like what he’s done,” Rowson said. “It’s just a matter of doing it consistently. And he hasn’t been to that point yet. When I watch him and I see certain things, there’s a really good hitter that’s been in this league and there’s a really good hitter that’s still in there in this league, and I honestly feel good about him returning to that guy. I don’t feel like he’s that far away from that.”
What Clarke Schmidt’s injury means
Since the regular season began, the Yankees have mostly stayed healthy. Jon Berti will miss significant time with a calf strain. That was the only serious injury the Yankees have had to navigate outside of LeMahieu’s foot injury sustained in spring training and Gerrit Cole’s elbow inflammation. But the Yankees received bad news Thursday when they announced starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt would be sidelined with a lat strain.
Make it SIX strikeouts for Clarke Schmidt! pic.twitter.com/hct40xWQOA
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) May 26, 2024
Boone said Schmidt will be shut down from throwing for four to six weeks. Rehab will follow as the Yankees build him back up. Realistically, the earliest Schmidt could return is August. In the meantime, Cody Poteet, who made a spot start in Cleveland earlier this season, will take over Schmidt’s spot in the rotation Saturday against the Giants.
It’s a blow for the Yankees and Schmidt, who has been one of MLB’s best starters. He ranks inside the top 20 in both ERA and K/9 this season.
“Obviously, Clarke’s been one of the guys that has been pitching so well, so it stinks for him,” Boone said. “But hopefully (we) get him on the mend and hopefully get him back at some point.”
It’s not all bad news for the Yankees’ rotation. Cole could begin a rehab assignment as soon as Tuesday. If all goes well in his rehab outings, Cole could make his season debut in just a few weeks. If he stays on a five-day plan, a couple of season debut options could make sense: June 19 at home against the Baltimore Orioles or June 25 at Citi Field against the Mets. Either way, the Yankees are nearing the return of the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner.
Advertisem*nt
There were questions on who the Yankees would remove from their rotation when Cole came back considering all five starters were performing well. But now it seems Poteet, if he stays in the rotation after his start Saturday, would go back to Triple A.
That also means Luis Gil, an American League Cy Young Award contender, will likely continue in the rotation for now. The Yankees have said Gil isn’t on an innings limit mandate, but common sense would suggest they’ll limit his workload at some point because he’s coming off of Tommy John surgery and has never pitched this much in his professional career. No matter what the plan is for Gil, the No. 1 objective from the organization is to keep him as fresh as possible for a potential October run.
“You’d have to say beyond expectations,” Boone said after Wednesday’s game about how Gil has pitched this season. “We’ve always known his talent. Coming back from Tommy John and having missed over a year of baseball, it would have been hard to predict this. But we’ve also always known about Luis’ talent.”
(Photo of Anthony Rizzo: Wendell Cruz / USA Today)
Chris Kirschner is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New York Yankees. He previously covered the Atlanta Hawks from 2018-2022 for The Athletic. Chris was named Georgia's Sportswriter of the Year in 2021 for his work covering the Hawks. Chris is a native of Bronx, NY. Follow Chris on Twitter @chriskirschner
