Andrew Benintendi goes on injured list, will have further tests on injured wrist 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Andrew Benintendi was put on the injured list Saturday, but it is too early to determine if his season is over.

Benintendi had to leave Friday night’s game with a right wrist injury suffered when he swung and missed during a third-inning at-bat.

“Right now, it’s wrist inflammation,” Aaron Boone said before Saturday night’s game against the Rays at Tropicana Field. “We have to get some more tests, some more imaging and more opinions to really narrow down exactly what it is. I think there’s still some questions there.”

He added: “Just not sure where we thought [in the wrist area] may not be injured so they’ve got to get more CT scans. I just got briefed on it a little bit ago so I don’t really have much for you other than he is going on the IL, but it’s a little inconclusive right now exactly what [it is] . . . right wrist sprain for right now, but they’ve got to look at some more things.”

After Friday night’s 9-0 loss, Boone relayed the brief conversation he had with Benintendi before removing him from the game. “He felt like something popped in his wrist and he’s got some numbness in his fingers,” Boone said.

Though Boone said “there could be” a chance Benintendi makes it back this year, nothing is definitive.

“Again, we don’t know what we have,” he said. “I was literally just getting briefed on it, so it’s tough to know.”

Benintendi, who has hit .246 with a .323 on-base percentage in 33 games since being acquired from the Royals at the trade deadline, started 31 games in left with his new team.

Boone said his short-term plan is to “mix and match” at the position in Benintendi’s absence, with Tim Locastro, Estevan Florial — who was recalled from the minors Saturday — Aaron Hicks,  Oswaldo Cabrera and, though not at the moment, Giancarlo Stanton among the primary contenders to get playing time there.

Said Boone, “Hopefully create an opportunity for someone [and] that someone kind of kicks the door in.”

Pump the brakes

Boone offered a different weekend program for Anthony Rizzo from the one he had spoken of Friday.

Before Saturday night’s game, Boone said Saturday and Sunday would be “down days” for Rizzo, who saw a back specialist Thursday in California and received an epidural shot in the back. “Then we’ll ramp him up hopefully starting Monday,” Boone said. “Might be a Monday [or] Tuesday ramp-up. We just have to see how these next two days go.”  

On Friday, Boone said Rizzo would go through workouts Saturday and Sunday at Yankee Stadium with the hopes of going through a full day of baseball activities Monday and returning to the lineup Tuesday.

Rizzo  also missed four games in early July and five games in early August because of lower-back tightness.