Yankees still consider Anthony Rizzo a ‘real cog’ for lineup with return imminent

The Yankees will get Anthony Rizzo back soon — perhaps as soon as Saturday — but they won’t know what version of the first baseman they’re getting.

Will it be the slugger that got off to a fast start a year ago or the one that slumped for much of the past three seasons?

He struggled in the second half of 2022, as well as ’23, and hadn’t produced at all before he fractured his right arm on a freak baserunning play in Boston on June 16.

Heading into his fifth minor league rehab game with Double-A Somerset on Friday night, Rizzo was 2-for-8 with a homer and the Yankees wanted him to play first base for at least most of a full game before getting him back to The Bronx.

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And despite how poorly Rizzo hit prior to getting hurt, Aaron Boone said Friday the Yankees remain confident he can still be a key part of the offense.

“He says he feels good, which is important,’’ Boone said before the Yankees opened their series against the Cardinals at the Stadium. “I’m excited for what he can bring.”

Asked if he still considers Rizzo to be the force he has been in the past, Boone said, “We look at him as Anthony Rizzo and hope he can come be a real cog in our lineup, but we’ll see.”

Rizzo, according to Boone, is ready to contribute.

“I like where he’s at physically and his frame of mind,” Boone said. “He’s hungry for it. He’s fighting to get back. I just feel he’s in a good place mentally to hopefully go on a good run for us because we know how important he can be on both sides of the ball for us from a lineup standpoint.”

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At 35, though, it’s fair to wonder how much he will be able to deliver, especially given his recent injury history.

“Physically, he’s been doing well for several weeks,’’ Boone said. “He’s been bouncing back really well.’’

Rizzo is one of several injured players the Yankees hope to get back in September, including Jon Berti (calf) and Ian Hamilton (lat).

Since Rizzo suffered the arm injury in mid-June, the Yankees have been unable to get production at first base, with both DJ LeMahieu and Ben Rice slumping for much of the year.

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Berti, who has been out since late May with his calf strain, would provide depth at third behind Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has been shaky defensively .

It’s unclear how the Yankees roster — and lineup — will shake out once Rizzo and Berti are back, other than Rice likely being optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Rice started against St. Louis right-hander Erick Fedde on Friday.

LeMahieu has been awful at the plate all season.

Berti was acquired in a trade from the Marlins in exchange for catcher Ben Rortvedt, who was sent to Tampa Bay in the three-team deal shortly before Opening Day.

The Yankees don’t have many other choices at first other than to keep their fingers crossed that Rizzo can regain the form he showed at times in his first two-plus seasons with the team after arriving at the trade deadline from the Cubs in 2021.

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