New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo is headed back to New York City to undergo additional medical tests, YES Network's Meredith Marakovits reported Monday evening.
The Yankees placed Rizzo on the 10-day injured list with post-concussion syndrome on Aug. 3, more than two months after he suffered a likely concussion.
Rizzo told Marakovits he feels like he is progressing, and that he did light agility drills and inclined treadmill walking on Monday. Rizzo said the team's doctors advised him not to do any jumping or jerking movements during his recovery period.
The head injury can be traced back to a May 28 home game against the San Diego Padres, when right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. ran into Rizzo's head while lunging back towards first on a pickoff attempt. Rizzo left that game and missed the next three, but he eventually returned to play in 46 of the next 49.
Rizzo's numbers went into a free fall over the following two months, as the former three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, one-time Silver Slugger and one-time World Series champion is currently hitting .244 with a .706 OPS on the season. The 34-year-old is on pace for his worst year since his debut campaign with the Padres in 2011.
In 53 games before the incident, Rizzo was hitting .304 with 11 home runs, 32 RBI and an .880 OPS. In the 46 games after the supposed injury, Rizzo hit .172 with one home run, nine RBI and a .496 OPS.
Last season, the veteran hit 32 home runs with 75 RBI and an .817 OPS in his first full season with the Yankees.
New York is 4-6 since Rizzo hit the injured list, burying them even further into last place in the AL East. The Yankees remain 5.0 games back of the third and final AL Wild Card spot with 44 games to go, and FanGraphs gives them a 5.9% chance to make the postseason.
Rizzo is already technically eligible to return to the active roster, but it remains to be seen if or when he will be medically cleared to resume full baseball activities.
The Yankees will close out their nine-game road trip later this week, and they are scheduled to host the rival Boston Red Sox in a three-game series starting Friday.
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