Yankees activate Anthony Rizzo, demote Estevan Florial

Ahead of today’s series finale in Milwaukee, the Yankees announced that they had activated Anthony Rizzo off the injured list. In a corresponding move, they sent Estevan Florial to Triple-A Scranton.

Rizzo had originally hit the IL with a lower back injury, and saw his return delayed by migraines related to an epidural he received earlier this month. Though Rizzo was only placed on the IL early in September, the back ailment had caused him to miss a handful of games in July and August, and likely was impacting him at least partially throughout much of the summer.

The prospect of a fully-healthy Rizzo is an exciting one. The Yankee lineup in the second half has been too reliant on Aaron Judge’s heroics, often looking entirely dormant on nights when their MVP doesn’t show out. Rizzo has a 135 OPS+ and 30 dingers on the year, and may very well be the team’s second-best hitter when healthy.

To make room on the active roster, Florial is headed back to the minors. Though he’s received just 35 plate appearances in the majors this year, Florial has hit a woeful .097/.200/.097. Of the young guns promoted by the Yankees this year, Florial may have had the toughest go of it.