The New York Yankees placed first baseman Anthony Rizzo on the 10-day injured list with post-concussion syndrome, manager Aaron Boone announced to the media on Thursday.
Boone said the club believes Rizzo's symptoms trace back all the way to May 28, when the 33-year-old was involved in a collision with San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. at first base while fielding a pickoff throw.
Rizzo exited the game following the collision and missed the next three contests due to a stiff neck. Boone said Rizzo passed MLB's concussion protocol before returning to the field on June 2.
But Rizzo recently mentioned feeling "foggy" to the club's medical staff, according to Boone. After being run through neurological testing, the results showed Rizzo was “moving a lot slower than the normal person’s reaction time would be," the first baseman said.
"That's definitely alarming, especially for what I do for a living," Rizzo added.
Rizzo, who's considered week to week, hasn't been the same player since returning from the collision. He opened the season hitting .304/.376/.505 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs through May 28. But he's slashing just .172/.271/.225 with one homer and nine RBIs since.
The three-time All-Star called the diagnosis a "silver lining" as he's struggled to find his way out of a prolonged slump.
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"I've struggled plenty in this game, but I've also done it for a long time to know that you usually come out [of a slump] and there's signs of coming out," Rizzo said. "I remember talking to someone [who asked], 'Do you feel like you're coming out of this soon?' I answered honestly and I'm like, 'No, I don't.' Because I just couldn't feel what you're trying to feel as a hitter. I guess now we can link two and two together.
"[The diagnosis] came back with a silver lining that I'm not crazy for walking back to the dugout consistently thinking, 'Man, how did I miss that pitch? I usually don't miss that.' Or when I swung at a pitch thinking it was in one location and then going and looking at the video and it's in a different location. As a baseball player, that's frustrating."
