Although everything had been pretty casual and not worrisome about Anthony Rizzo’s back stiffness – it happens every year, and it’s always fine – you can now consider me a little more concerned.
What you didn’t want to see happen is him getting back to live BP, and then having to shut back down. And you really, really didn’t want to see the word “tests” thrown in there. But alas:
Not great news re Anthony Rizzo…after a BP session the other day, he still had some lower back tightness that's been bothering him. He's still day-to-day….Ross even mentioned some tests
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) July 14, 2020
Ross: Rizzo still day to day and will not play in tonight's intrasquad game. Lower-back tightness flared in the wake of his recent live BP session.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 14, 2020
Ross’s exact quote was apparently, “He’s still a day-to-day [and we’re] trying to get some tests run and see where he’s at,” per NBCSC. That sounds not great.
The season is set to start in 10 days, and you’d obviously want to see Rizzo getting more live BP in – at least – before taking the field in a real game. There was plenty of time for that, but if he’s shut back down now and getting tests done? That makes me think he could be out for a little while yet, which probably does put Opening Day in question. Hopefully any testing comes back clean, and it’s still just a matter of being very cautious.
We’ll update when there’s more info.