Yankees shut down Anthony Rizzo for rest of season with post-concussion syndrome

Anthony Rizzo will not play again this season.

Aaron Boone made the as-expected announcement on Tuesday before the Yankees hosted the Tigers. Rizzo has been out since Aug. 3 with post-concussion syndrome.  

“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 and where he is, but [he] still hadn't been cleared yet to play. So they want to at least do another checkup in probably another couple of weeks. We were just kind of up against the clock, but he's continuing to work out, he's continuing to make all the right cognitive improvements.”

Rizzo, 34, was not available for comment. Rizzo was injured on May 28 when he collided at first base with the Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. on a pickoff attempt.  

After missing three games with what the Yankees called a neck injury, Rizzo tried to play through what he later termed “fogginess” -- and played poorly. Rizzo had an .880 OPS and 11 home runs at the time of his injury. His final season totals are a .244 batting average and .706 OPS with 12 home runs in 99 games.  

It took more than two months after the collision for Rizzo to be diagnosed correctly.

“You always have regret if something doesn’t get diagnosed right away,” Boone said. “But that’s not the reality sometimes. I think all the right things and the right steps were happening. You can’t go back but, sure, we would have liked to right away been able to know exactly maybe what he was going to start dealing with.”

Rizzo is signed for next season at $17 million with a $17 million option and $6 million buyout for 2025.

Asked if the post-concussion syndrome is something that could stick with Rizzo into future seasons, Boone said: “I don't want to speak out of turn, especially when we're talking the seriousness of head injuries and whatnot. But my understanding is the last month as he's seeing the specialists and the things they're asking him to do, I think everyone’s been really encouraged by how he’s done and how he continues to improve. So hopefully that’s not the case.” 

On Aug. 18, Rizzo expressed hope that he would not be shut down. 

“I don’t have a time line,” he said. “But hopefully in the next few weeks, I’m back playing. I don’t know. You’ve got to take it day by day, week by week. If we run out of time, then we run out of time.” 

So did Rizzo react to the decision to shut him down? 

“I think fine,” Boone said. “I think he's in a good place. I think the  

doctors and he have seen the progress they've wanted to see. I feel like he's encouraged by where he’s at.” 

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.