NEW YORK – Anthony Rizzo “was shocked’’ when medical test results came back, revealing a small fracture near his right elbow following a hard fall Sunday night at Fenway Park.
In response to Rizzo’s lengthy absence, the first place Yankees called up a promising lefty hitter Ben Rice, one of the organization’s top hitting prospects.
Rice, 25, was in Tuesday night’s lineup for his MLB debut as the Yankees’ first baseman, batting No. 6 against the second-place Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium.
A beaming Rice went 1-for-4, with line drive single in his second at-bat during a 4-2 win before a sellout crowd that included many family members and friends.
"Good weight off my shoulders,'' Rice said of his first hit, off O's starter Albert Suarez. "Now, I feel like I can just go out, breathe, play - do everything as usual.''
Just an hour before the game, teammates asked Rice how he'd respond to the bleacher fans' roll call, and he came up with an "eating a bowl of rice'' pantomime.
A catcher by trade, Rice has split time at first base during his ascension through the minors – including a brief, 11-game stint at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Defensively, Rice is “a little bit of a work in progress,’’ said bench coach Brad Ausmus. “(Rizzo) mentioned helping him out.’’
Rizzo had a locker near Rice in camp, and "he handled himself really well,'' said Rizzo. "It's a great opportunity for him...hopefully he runs with it and does really well.''
Ben Rice ranked by MLB Pipeline as Yankees' No. 12 prospect
Rice’s name has been mentioned among the Yankees’ big-league staff even before his arrival at Triple-A. “He’s piqued the interest of both the on-field personnel and front office,’’ said Ausmus, a fellow Dartmouth College grad.
Ausmus saw Rice play in the Cape Cod League before becoming a 12th round draft pick by the Yankees.
Once selected, Ausmus texted his regards to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who reminded Ausmus that he was the last Dartmouth catcher drafted by the Yanks (who lost him to the Colorado Rockies in the 1992 expansion draft.
As a rookie, “this one is a little closer to my heart because of the connections,’’ said Ausmus, the Yankees’ acting manager Tuesday with Aaron Boone attending his son’s high school graduation.
Through a youth coach, growing up in New England, Rice has "kind of known who Brad was for a long time, and he's been a role model for me,'' so to have him manage his debut game "was pretty cool.''
Since his recent promotion from Class AA Somerset, Rice was batting .333 with three homers, 10 RBI and a 1.059 OPS in just 50 plate appearances.
“When you watch him take an at bat, it looks like a big-league at bat,’’ said Ausmus, who also like Rice’s work and preparation during big league spring training.
“He’s taking the right pitches, he’s swinging and attacking the right pitches, he’s making the pitcher work.’’
And now, he’s filling the void left by Rizzo.
Anthony Rizzo could be sidelined until mid-August
“This is a setback, and this team - it’s a special group and I’ll be along for the ride,’’ said Rizzo, batting a disappointing .230 this year with a .630 OPS in 70 games. “I just won’t be playing right now.’’
Known for his pain tolerance as MLB’s active leader in being hit by pitches, Rizzo, 34, was deflated to hear he’d be out for eight weeks.
“Not playing (stinks),’’ said Rizzo, whose 2023 season effectively ended Aug. 1, after a delayed diagnosis of post-concussion symptoms.
“Last year (not) playing was weird. This year, another weird injury,’’ said Rizzo, who expects to play again this regular season, based on the medical info.
Rizzo had never suffered a fracture until Sunday night, when he became tangled up with Boston Red Sox pitcher Brennan Bernardino, trying to corral an errant throw to first base.
At the time, the Yankees were trailing by a run, in a game they’d eventually lose 9-3, and Rizzo – not known for his speed – was going full steam toward the bag.
The contact with Bernardino was unavoidable and Rizzo felt there was no malicious intent involved.
“Just a weird play, and if I don’t land on my arm, we’re not talking about it,’’ said Rizzo, who “just tried to avoid contact’’ and tumbled hard into foul ground.
Originally, Rizzo felt he’d injured his right wrist, but still felt he had avoided a significant injury until the pain to his elbow increased on the flight to New York.
Rizzo said he won’t require surgery. The best-case scenario has him back playing by late August.
Until then, “I’ll still be able to contribute’’ to the behind-the-scenes activities,’’ said Rizzo.
Ausmus said Rizzo is “as much a part of the character of this team as anyone. I’m hoping he’s around quite a bit because we still need him in the clubhouse even though we can’t have him on the field.’’
“(I’ll) be there to watch video, look at scouting reports, talk guys off the ledge we all go on,’’ said Rizzo “And just be there as positive as I can.’’
