The New York Yankees received some concerning news on veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who fractured his fourth and fifth fingers on a hit-by-pitch. After rehabbing and returning from a fracture in his arm earlier this season, Rizzo suffers a tough blow once more as it’s another freak accident that could sideline him. Thankfully, he’s avoiding an IL stint for now, as the Yankees have chosen to option Scott Effross instead with Mark Leiter Jr. being reinstated from the paternity list.
Ben Rice, the rookie first baseman who flashed power amid a turbulent first stint with the Yankees, has been promoted in his place as he’ll get a shot to earn some reps in the postseason.
Scott Effross Demoted, Ben Rice Gets a Second Chance With the Yankees
It wasn’t a great first stint in the Bronx for Ben Rice, who fell into a nasty slump in August where he didn’t collect a single barrel and saw his wRC+ drop from 107 to 76. The underlying metrics suggest that the 25-year-old should have had better results, and perhaps he can get some luck in some of the biggest games of the Yankees’ season.
Across 49 MLB games, he ranked in the 88th percentile in SEAGER, the 71st percentile in Z-Contact%, and the 81st percentile in Damage per Batted Ball Event. After being demoted to Triple-A, Ben Rice hit nine home runs in 19 games and posted a 174 wRC+, although he hasn’t played since September 22nd since that’s when the Triple-A season came to a close.
For Anthony Rizzo, this injury may not end his season, but it certainly puts him in jeopardy for the American League Division Series next week. Aaron Boone mentioned it being more of a pain tolerance thing than a season-ending injury, but there’s no way to tell how his hand will recover over the next week.
READ MORE: Yankees’ starting first baseman fractures two fingers in loss to Pirates
Since returning from the IL, Rizzo had a modest 97 wRC+ but hit zero home runs and wasn’t impacting the ball much, a sign that his career could be on its last legs. His 84 wRC+ on the year and 4.0% Barrel Rate indicate that he’s just not the hitter he once was, but the Yankees definitely valued his defensive capabilities, especially when it comes to scoops.
With +2 DRS and +1 OAA across 801.2 innings at first base, Anthony Rizzo has remained a quality defender at the position even with his range and mobility being far worse than it was a few years ago. Ben Rice isn’t the defender that Rizzo is at first base due to inexperience, and that could hurt an infield that has relied on those scoops to bail them out.
The offensive upside here is that Ben Rice finds a way to run into some home runs and get the offense going at the bottom of the order, and a lot of data indicates he should be a quality big-league bat. If he’s able to stay mechanically sharp at the plate and run into a couple of longballs, the Dartmouth alumni could have some key moments in October for the Yankees.
He will start today at first base for the Yankees as they conclude their regular season against the Pirates at 3:05 PM.