As the Yankees deliberated what to do with Anthony Rizzo for the ALCS on Sunday, Aaron Boone said the first baseman was “adamant” about his ability to play against the Guardians. “I’m ready,” the first baseman told the manager after his right hand, which sustained two fractured fingers on the second-to-last day of the regular season, recovered well from an encouraging day of baseball activities on Saturday. The Yankees agreed, adding Rizzo to their ALCS roster after leaving him off their ALDS group. Rizzo found himself playing first and batting eighth for Game 1 on Monday even though Boone said the Yankees’ decision on the veteran didn’t happen until Sunday night. Asked if he’d be playing if Monday were a regular season game, Rizzo dismissed the question as a hypothetical before adding, “I don’t know.” “I’ve had opportunities throughout my career to play a good amount of postseason baseball, and this is what you play for,” Rizzo, who won a World Series with the Cubs in 2016, added during a pregame press conference. “The clock is only ticking on my age and getting older. You just never know when you’re going to have an opportunity to play for a pennant again, ever again. You can’t take any of this for granted.” Boone said that the decision to activate Rizzo gave him “pause” on Sunday, but he’s been impressed with the work the 35-year-old has done in the field and in the batter’s box since the regular season ended. Rizzo did not face live pitching prior to Game 1, but Boone said he’s seen high velocity and hit off the Yankees’ Trajekt machine. Boone also said Rizzo has been truthful about his hand’s recovery. “I said, ‘You gotta be honest with me every step,’ and he has been,” Boone said, recalling a conversation the two had before the ALDS began. “He’s been very transparent.” Rizzo said that pain tolerance is still a factor for him. But he also described his pain level as a “zero” when asked how he’s doing on a scale of 1-10. “It’s just pain,” Rizzo said. “It’s temporary, and the 50,000 people in the stands and the adrenaline and what’s at stake is going to outweigh any pain I’ll be feeling.” Rizzo said that he’s confident his right hand can handle both sides of the ball; if he needs to slide on the bases, he’ll try to raise that side. Rizzo will also play with a brace in his glove, as well as some extra padding in his mitt and batting glove. Asked if Rizzo is compromised, Boone said, “I don’t think so. He’ll be feeling fine.” With Rizzo off the Yankees’ ALDS roster, Boone had Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti platoon at first base. Both looked sharp there despite limited experience. However, once Rizzo was added to the ALCS roster, Boone planned on going with the four-time Gold Glover. “Having that anchor over there is definitely a big deal,” Boone said of Rizzo, though he noted that Cabrera and Berti were impressive. Rizzo agreed with that assessment. “Cabby, his versatility has been amazing,” Rizzo said. “The few years he’s had in the big leagues, he’s been so unselfish and such a team guy playing wherever he needs to play. He thrives at every position. ‘Berti kind of had a week to prepare, but he’s an infielder. He’s athletic. There are little tricks of the trade there that I tell pretty much every first baseman, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to be athletic, and he is.” With the versatile Cabrera and Berti also swinging the bat well in the ALDS, a case could have been made to stick with them over Rizzo. The latter hit .228/.301/.335 with eight homers and 35 RBI over 92 games during the regular season — he also missed time with a fractured arm — and he’s hit just .237/.315/.358 since the start of last season. Rizzo played with undiagnosed concussion symptoms for two months in 2023, which derailed his year. While Rizzo has not had much success — or luck when it comes to health — lately, Boone noted that he hit well between his various fractures this season. Rizzo batted .308 over his last 11 games, but he didn’t homer over that stretch. “He wasn’t hitting for power, but I felt like he was having a lot of really good at-bats and got some big hits for us down the stretch,” Boone said. “Was just having quality at-bats every day, so hopefully he can continue to provide that at the bottom.”