2023 New York Yankees in Review: Anthony Rizzo

It was a frustrating season for the veteran first baseman.

Anthony Rizzo

Position: First Base

Bats/Throws: Left/Left

Age: 34

MLB Experience: 13 seasons (2011 with SD, 2012-2021 with CHC, 2021-present with NYY)

2023 Stats: 99 GP, 421 PA, 45 R, 12 HR, 41 RBI, .244 AVG, .328 OBP, .378 SLG, .706 OPS, 93 OPS+, 100 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR, 0.5 bWAR

It was a very difficult season for New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo, especially considering the murky circumstances behind its ending.

Since being acquired by the Yankees from the Chicago Cubs at the 2021 trade deadline, Rizzo has been a steady contributor in the lineup, usually penciled in the no. 3 spot. In 2022, his first full season in the Bronx, Rizzo made up for a .224 batting average with a .480 slugging percentage, with his compact left-handed swing being perfectly tailored for Yankee Stadium’s right field “Short Porch." Despite the low average and a down year on defense, the 134 wRC+ and 32 home runs (which matched his career high) allowed Rizzo to earn a two-year, $40 million contract with a $17 million club option or a $6 million buyout for 2025.

Entering a game against the San Diego Padres on May 28, Rizzo had gotten off to a great start to the season. In 229 plate appearances, he was slashing .303/.376/.505 with 11 home runs, 32 RBI, 30 runs scored, and a 146 wRC+.

But in the top of the sixth inning of that game, Rizzo was inadvertently struck in the head by Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. while tagging him out at first base. During the play, catcher Kyle Higashioka fired a snap throw to Rizzo to catch the speedy Tatis, who lunged back to first base to no avail; however, his hip slammed into Rizzo’s face, causing Rizzo to crumple to the ground and eventually leave the game.

The Yankees diagnosed Rizzo with a neck injury, but he passed all tests in the concussion protocol. However, despite only missing three games before returning and consistently telling the team he felt healthy, Rizzo’s offensive production completely disappeared.

The last 46 games of Rizzo’s season were painful to watch. In 195 plate appearances, he recorded only 30 hits for a .174 batting average. Even worse was his power; he submitted a .227 slugging percentage (the kind of slugging percentage you would see from a pitcher not named Shohei Ohtani) and hit just one home run for the remainder of the season, with a 45 wRC+ during that span. This career-worst stretch was capped off by his first ever “Platinum Sombrero” on July 30, going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts against the Baltimore Orioles.

Rizzo would play his last game of the season on August 1; two days later, he told the team that he was “feeling fogginess in his brain” and was subsequently diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. Ever since the Tatis incident, Rizzo had been playing with impaired reaction time, an attribute that is paramount in baseball, both at the plate and in the field.

It’s a very damning, if not outright incompetent, situation where the Yankees kept allowing Rizzo to play through the concussion even though his play was negatively affecting the team’s offense; the first base position ultimately became the equivalent of a black hole in terms of offensive production.

But yet, despite all the signs pointing to Rizzo being concussed, he himself didn’t know.

Rizzo “felt completely healthy” prior to the “fogginess” in late July, and somehow wasn’t immediately diagnosed with the concussion; as mentioned above, all immediate tests came back clean.

When all is said and done, Rizzo’s OPS was the worst of his career outside of his rookie season with the Padres, and his strong pre-injury numbers were the only things preventing his overall statistics from being even worse; surprisingly, his wRC+ on the season was 100, which is exactly league average. Nonetheless, the concussed slump severely hurt the Yankee lineup, which coupled with Aaron Judge’s injury, sent an already inconsistent offense into complete shambles.

What makes Rizzo’s season difficult to gauge is that the numbers aren’t necessarily his fault, as he didn’t know he was playing through a concussion. Also, his strong play before the injury needed to be taken into account.

And yet, it seemed obvious to everyone except for Rizzo and the Yankees organization that the Tatis incident resulted in an injury that was affecting his play. But he continued to play, and thus was putting himself at not only a massive disadvantage, but also at further risk of injury. Because of this, there’s no other choice but to give Rizzo a poor grade.

Fortunately, Yankee fans shouldn’t be concerned with Rizzo despite the tumultuous, injury-shortened season. As shown by his excellent pre-injury numbers, he’s still a key contributor to the team when healthy, so expect him to return to his usual production when he’s fully recovered and ready for 2024.

Grade: D+

Next Player: Gleyber Torres