Another reported injury occurs to the Yankees. After more than a week out from Opening Day, the Yankees are playing Whac-A-Mole in addition to baseball.
After a relatively quiet start to camp, new injuries have continued to pop up over the last two weeks, with Anthony Rizzo being the latest cause for concern on Friday.
Rizzo did not actually sound concerned about his left lat tightness, which forced him to be a late scratch from the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the Mets at Steinbrenner Field.
But given the Yankees’ recent track record on these things, it may be prescient to wait a few days before declaring that the veteran first baseman is fully in the clear.
“Honestly, it’s just being smart,” said Rizzo, who indicated he was not set to undergo any kind of testing. “It’s not putting yourself in a position to have to be hurt on Opening Day or whatnot. Still got a week.
“Fully confident that I’ll be there on Opening Day. As far as playing-wise, maybe Sunday, hopefully Monday. But if not, at this point, I’ll be ready to go. It won’t be an issue for Opening Day, that’s for sure.”
The Yankees need it not to be, especially because they are not particularly deep at first base.
DJ LeMahieu would be the normal backup there, but he is dealing with an injury of his own — a significant bone bruise on his right foot after fouling a ball off it last Saturday.
LeMahieu was able to take some batting practice indoors on Friday in a positive step, along with taking ground balls at third base, doing agility drills and throwing.
Still, manager Aaron Boone acknowledged that LeMahieu has “got a way to go to be at the point where he’s ready to play.”
