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Yankees shut down Anthony Rizzo for season weeks after post-concussion syndrome diagnosis

First baseman for the New York Yankees , Anthony Rizzo learned that his season ended Tuesday, following a post-concussion syndrome diagnosis.

“He is going to be shut down for the year,” manager Aaron Boone told reporters before a game against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium.

Rizzo joined the injured list on August 3rd when he was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. Doctors believe he got the concussion when the San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. crashed into him while returning to first base on May 28 in the Bronx.

Tatis’ hip hit Rizzo’s head/neck/shoulder region. He did not finish the game and took three matches off while he recovered. But he was not the same star player when he returned. In 46 games after the collision, Rizzo hit only .172 with one home run, nine RBIs and a .496 OPS. Before the incident, he was one of the best-performing first basemen in the game, hitting .304 with 11 home runs, 32 RBIs and a .880 OPS in 53 games.

He hopped to come back this season despite the diagnosis. In mid-August, he said he was “feeling better on a day-to-day” basis and that the “fogginess” he was experiencing had lifted.

But recently, Rizzo met with doctors again, who put him through tests and told him they saw progress but he was not clear to return to playing. Boone said Anthony would probably have another checkup in a few weeks. He added that the baseman did not fight the team’s decision.

“I think he’s in a good place,” Boone said, adding that he worked out in the Yankees’ weight room with Rizzo earlier in the day and that he was “getting after it.”

The manager said he hoped that Anthony would be able to come back to being the significant lefty hitter he had been throughout his 13-year MLB career. He is due to make $17 million next season with a $6 million buyout of his 2025 team option. Rizzo is a career .236 hitter and he is only five homers away from 300. He has been an All-Star three times and won four Gold Gloves.

“He’s been kind of a model of consistency in what’s been a really good career,” Boone said. “So I think the fact that we can trace it is obviously got everyone’s attention, and initially is alarming. But, also, there probably is a reason here now that you weren’t the player you’ve been really your entire career. I think the things that he’s doing, and the tools that we now have that I think help guys that have been through something like this, should put him on good footing moving forward.”

Does Boone regret that doctors weren’t able to diagnose Rizzo more quickly?

“I think you always have regret if something doesn’t get diagnosed right away,” he said. “Yeah, you always want everything to be — but that’s not the reality sometimes. I think all the right things and right steps are happening. You can’t go back. But, sure, you would have liked to have been able to know right away what he was dealing with.”