Anthony Rizzo Officially Done For The Season To Address Brain Health

The New York Yankees are pulling the plug on Anthony Rizzo — at least for the remainder of 2023.

The first baseman has not played since Aug. 1, when the club placed him on the Injured List for post-concussive symptoms.

The problem, of course, was he actually suffered the concussion more than two months earlier when he collided with Fernando Tatis Jr. on May 28.

To make matters worse, when Rizzo informed the team that he was experiencing blurriness and "fogginess," the Yankees still had him play in two more games before submitting him to further testing.

Apparently, they called Tua Tagovailoa's doctors for advice.

Anyway, with the Yankees out of the playoff picture, manager Aaron Boone went ahead and pulled the three-time MLB All-Star for the rest of the season.

"I would say everything is going well," Boone said. "His most recent checkup was all the things we're looking for as far as his improvements."

Boone clarified Rizzo had not experienced any setbacks in his recovery.

"We're just kind of up against the clock," Boone said. "But he's continuing to work out. He's continuing to make all the right cognitive improvements."

Before Rizzo's injury, he posted an .880 OPS and 11 home runs in 53 games. In the two months following, he fell to a .496 OPS with only one home run in 46 games.

Clearly, reaction time was an issue.

(Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

Boone said the 34-year-old slugger understood the team's decision.

"I think he's in a good place," Boone said. "The doctors and he have seen the progress they've wanted to see. I feel like he's encouraged by where he's at."

If all goes well, Rizzo will be back in 2024 — the final guaranteed year of his deal before a club option in 2025.