Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo departed New York's Sunday contest against the San Diego Padres (GameTracker) after suffering a neck injury in the top of the sixth. Rizzo became intertwined with Fernando Tatis Jr.'s leg as Tatis was attempting to return to first base on what proved to be a successful inning-ending pickoff. After the game, manager Aaron Boone said Rizzo is "good" and that the Yankees will continue to monitor him.
Here's a look at the play in question:
Rizzo, 33, entered Sunday in the midst of a fantastic season. In his first 52 games, he had batted .303/.376/.507 (143 OPS+) with 11 home runs and 31 runs batted in. He added an RBI single to the equation on Sunday prior to leaving the game. Rizzo's contributions had been worth an estimated 1.7 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference's calculations.
The Yankees replaced Rizzo Sunday by making a series of changes. DJ LeMahieu slid from third base to first; Isiah Kiner-Falefa stepped in from left field to take over at the hot corner; and Greg Allen, recently acquired from the Boston Red Sox, entered in left. The Yankees held an 8-3 lead at the time, though the Padres closed the gap in the seventh.
The Yankees, who entered Sunday with a 31-23 record on the year and a seven-game deficit in the American League East, are already without several other key contributions. Starting catcher Jose Trevino, third baseman Josh Donaldson, and outfielder Giancarlo Stanton are all on the injured list, as are starting pitchers Carlos Rodón and Frankie Montas, and relievers Scott Effross, Ian Hamilton, Lou Trivino, Tommy Kahnle, and Jonathan Loáisiga.
The Yankees, predictably, lead the majors in days lost to injury this season, with nearly 700 already. Their New York peers, the Mets, are the only other MLB team over 600, according to Spotrac's data.
