Around the Empire: Yankees news - 9/4/23

MLB.com: Reliever Ian Hamilton logged a three-inning save on Wednesday and hasn’t made an appearance since. We all thought it was because of the large workload that day, but unfortunately, there is also an injury to report. The Yankees placed him on the 15-day IL (retroactive to August 31st) with a right groin strain. It’s the same ailment that cost him several weeks of action earlier in the summer.

At this point it’s unclear if Hamilton will be able to make it back before the end of the season. He has a 2.24 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and a 64/23 K/BB ratio across 52.1 innings (35 appearances). Scranton Shuttle veteran Greg Weissert has been called up to take his spot.

NY Daily News | Gary Phillips: Anthony Volpe made one of Derek Jeter’s signature plays on Saturday’s win against the Astros: he reached for a ball towards the hole and made a jump throw to get Mauricio Dubón out at first base.

Volpe might be prone to making the occasional mistake, but the numbers say he has had a very solid season as a defender at shortstop. Phillips shows the numbers before Sunday’s game, stating that Volpe has three Outs Above Average (OAA), 15 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and a 0.6 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR). We don’t know how the Gold Glove will ultimately shake out because there is strong competition in the American League, but the evidence shows Volpe has been an asset on defense.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller: In the summer of 2016, the Yankees made the decision to sell and prioritized calling up and developing some of their prospects. Aaron Judge and Luis Severino are the two current members of the team that were on that squad, and both were trying to establish themselves as young franchise cornerstones. The group also included Gary Sánchez, Tyler Austin, and an injured Greg Bird, among others. Despite not really selling at the deadline, the 2023 Yanks are in a similar situation, with no real playoff hopes and lots of young players trying to make their way to stardom.

“Man, I think they’re better,” Judge said of this year’s batch. “We had some good guys coming up there in ‘16 and ‘17. This group, they’re impressive with their demeanor. The way they carry themselves on the field, I feel like they’ve been here all year.”

On Saturday, nearly all rookies in the lineup impacted the result (a win against the Astros) in some way: Volpe, Everson Pereira, Jasson Domínguez, Austin Wells, Oswald Peraza, and even Jhony Brito from the mound. That’s the impact Judge is talking about, and they were at it again to cap off the sweep last night.

NJ Advance Media | Kevin Manahan: On August 3rd, Anthony Rizzo was placed on the injured list after some disturbing specifics that can be summed up as “post-concussion syndrome” (stemming from a May 28th collision with Fernando Tatis Jr.). He noticed he was always late on pitches and started looking for answers. He would wake up hungover even though he didn’t drink alcohol, and his brain felt slow. To keep it short, Rizzo knew he wasn’t right.

The former All-Star went through a battery of tests that enlightened him and the team. A few weeks later, San Diego Padres catcher Austin Nola recognized the symptoms and knew they sounded familiar: like Rizzo, his performance tanked so badly that the Friars sent him to the minors. Nola was placed on Triple-A El Paso’s injured list this weekend with oculomotor dysfunction, which affects eye movement. He thinks it has been the cause of his struggles.

“I’m so thankful to get some clarity on it,” Nola told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I just couldn’t figure it out. I just didn’t know why I wasn’t seeing the ball.”

While the Yankees trace Rizzo’s symptoms to the Tatis collision, the Padres think Nola’s problems stem from a fastball that hit him in the face in March.

Since we just talked about Rizzo, here’s a small update on his status as well, from Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. As of now, it’s unknown when (or if) he will return in 2023.