Benched Anthony Rizzo believes bat can still help Yankees: ‘I’m sure it’ll come back’

Anthony Rizzo knows what it looks like, and he knows it’s not good.Yet the first baseman, benched for the Yankees’ series finale against the Dodgers on Sunday, believes production is coming from a swing that has produced a .181/.236/.248 slash line since April 29.“It’ll click,” Rizzo, hitting .224/.285/.339 with seven homers and 25 RBI overall, told the Daily News. “I feel like it’s close to clicking, actually. I know it may not look like it, but I do feel like it’s close.”Rizzo is 1-for-29 since June began, which is why Aaron Boone was thinking about sitting the 34-year-old for the Yankees’ Monday opener in Kanas City as well. However, Rizzo’s struggles date back to last year, when he played through undiagnosed post-concussion symptoms before being shut down in August.“I’d rather just focus on what we’ve seen this year,” Boone said. “There’s no question over the last two, three weeks especially, it’s been a little bit of a struggle. I think sometimes when you’re going through it and you’re making little adjustments, they don’t always take right away.”While Boone feels Rizzo is a good two or three weeks away from having solid numbers, the player is hitting just .204/.279/.293 since May 28 of last year, which is when a collision with the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. left him feeling foggy and derailed his 2023 campaign.This year, however, Rizzo has insisted that he’s healthy.He did so again on Sunday while speaking of the concussion and in general terms.“All that’s behind me,” Rizzo said. “I’m seeing the ball as I should be seeing it. I’m just mechanically a little off.“The physical capability and talent is there.”In addition to mechanical problems, Yankees hitting coach James Rowson said that Rizzo’s timing isn’t right. As a result, he hasn’t been putting himself in good positions to inflict damage.“If you’re on time consistently, what happens is, you’re able to get off your swing consistently the way you want to,” Rowson told The News while noting the similar issues that predated Aaron Judge’s ongoing scorching stretch. “But if you’re a little late, you’re gonna rush. If you’re a little early, you don’t quite know what to do with the time, so you may drift a little bit. When those things happen, the swing will fall apart. [Rizzo is] working to find the right timing to enable him to be more consistent with his swing.“When you’re on time, what you’ll find out is your mechanics tend to be in line.”Rowson reasoned that Rizzo’s timing issues are what’s behind Rizzo’s cratering metrics, which have left little room for optimism.Rizzo ranks in the bottom 25th percentile when it comes to xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, average exit velocity, bat speed, Barrel%, Hard-Hit% and Launch Angle Sweet Spot%.Simply put, the contact-prone hitter is not making quality contact.“Obviously, everything’s down right now,” said Rizzo, who isn’t as well-versed in analytics as some other Yankees. “When you’re not doing what you’re accustomed to doing, everything’s gonna be down. It’s not like I can go look at those numbers and magically they’re just gonna go up.”Rowson said that Rizzo’s poor timing is “definitely a huge factor” when it comes to the underlying metrics, which is why the coach isn’t ready to panic over the lefty swinger’s numbers.“I want to see him get to that point where he’s on time consistently,” Rowson said. “And I feel like when he is, we’re gonna find out that he’s barreling up more balls. We’re gonna find out that he’s driving more balls.”Of course, an extended slump like this isn’t just a physical matter.On Saturday, Alex Verdugo said Rizzo is “a little bit in his head.” Boone, meanwhile, said he thought Rizzo was “feeling it a little bit.”“I’ve certainly been there, where you have a million thoughts that you can take yourself to in private moments,” Boone continued. “But I would say overall, I think he’s handling it quite well and has a good perspective on it.”Rizzo shared some of that perspective.While he’s clearly not happy with his results, he said that he’s been “working internally and mentally and grinding” to get better. “I’m sure it’ll come back,” he added of his swing.“This is something that I’ve been through every year since I played baseball,” Rizzo said. “It seems like it’s a little worse at this moment, but every time I’m in it, it seems like it’s the worst it’s ever been. So you just gotta stay the course.“When you’re in a rut, whatever you do, you don’t ever think you’re gonna get out of it. And when you’re riding an all-time high, you think you’re never going to ever go back into a rut. Life will always humble you and even you out.”It will be interesting to see what the Yankees do if Rizzo’s play doesn’t correct course in the coming weeks.On Sunday, DJ LeMahieu manned first base. At Triple-A, sweet-swinging lefties Ben Rice and T.J. Rumfield can handle the position, though neither is on the 40-man roster.There’s been a lot of talk about the Yankees trading for a corner infielder, whether it be for someone who can play first, third or both. Ryan McMahon‘s name keeps coming up, but it’s unclear if the Rockies will trade him.Further down the road, the Yankees have a $17 million club option on Rizzo, a respected team leader and clubhouse presence. That option is attached to a $6 million buyout.In the meantime, the Bombers are happy with the work Rizzo is doing in the cage.In addition to fixing his timing and mechanics, he said he’s trying to be more selective, as he owns a 36.1 Chase% despite saying he’s seeing the ball well.The hope is that that work will translate to games sooner than later.“No one’s grinding harder than Anthony Rizzo is to try get this thing moving,” Rowson said. “There’s no crystal ball to say it’s going to happen today, or it’s gonna happen tomorrow. But what I do know is, if he continues working the way he is, better days are coming, and we’ll get past this.”

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