Yankees are officially going for it with the addition of Anthony Rizzo

The New York Yankees, languishing between Boston and Tampa in the AL East, could be excused for not making a run this season. They’ve chosen to do the exact opposite

The wall in right-field at Yankee Stadium sits just 314 feet from home plate. It’s historically been a place where lazy fly balls turn into homers. It’s the defining feature of this cathedral of baseball, the place where Babe Ruth became the Sultan of Swat, where Derek Jeter hit a ball into Jeffrey Maier’s glove and later became Mr. November.

The Yankees have traditionally taken advantage of this little quirk, from left-handers like Roger Maris, Tino Martinez, and Don Mattingly to switch-hitters like Mickey Mantle and Bernie Williams. But not in 2021.

Yankees left-handers are batting a collective .182 with a .625 OPS at home this season. The lineup has plenty of star power, from Aaron Judge to Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, and DJ LeMahieu. They share one thing in common: they are all righties. Yankees right-handers have 55 home runs at home, compared to 12 by left-handers, and an OPS 120 points higher.

The past two days, the Yankees front office has taken giant leaps towards rectifying that disparity. First, they traded for Joey Gallo from Texas. Then, on Thursday, they added one of the best left-handed power bats of this generation, former Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

Rizzo is on his way to the Bronx in exchange for prospects Alexander Vizcaino and Kevin Alcantara, a deal first reported by the YES Network’s Jack Curry. The three-time All-Star has spent the last 10 seasons in Chicago, helping the Cubs end their World Series drought in 2016 and endearing himself to fans on the North Side.

Anthony Rizzo Yankees trade changes the AL pennant race

Yankees fans will learn to embrace him just as much. Rizzo will love playing in the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium. His 204 home runs since 2014 are the second-most by a left-handed batter behind only Bryce Harper. He has 14 home runs this season, but five times he’s hit a fly ball to right-field at least 314 feet while playing at home that didn’t leave the park. Those would be homers at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees came into the season with World Series expectations behind a powerful lineup and elite starting rotation. They have not lived up to those hopes. The Yankees average the sixth-fewest runs per game this season and were shut out 14-0 by the Rays on Thursday. Both Boston and Tampa Bay, the teams they have to catch in the AL East to make the postseason, rank in the top-six.

But if the last two days have proved anything, it’s that the Yankees don’t believe in rebuilds. There is no taking a season off for the Bronx Bombers, no accepting that maybe this just isn’t their year. Still just 2.5 games out of a Wild Spot coming into Thursday’s game despite everything that’s happened to this club, from injuries to key players to sloppy play, the Yankees shouldn’t be counted out just yet.

Rizzo will look good in pinstripes. Yankee Stadium was seemingly built for a player like him to take advantage of. The Yankees aren’t going anywhere, not with Rizzo and Gallo coming to town.