First base has been mostly a black hole for the Yankees this season, with Ben Rice and DJ LeMahieu unable to provide much offense while filling in for Anthony Rizzo — who wasn’t hitting well even before he went down with a fractured right forearm.

But Rizzo is seemingly finally approaching a return from the injury that’s kept him out since mid-June.

Rizzo said before on Wednesday that he could play in his first rehab game as soon as Friday or Sunday with Double-A Somerset.

Saying he hadn’t felt any discomfort in the arm in over a week and that the strength in the right arm has returned, Rizzo said he would be limited to DH at first, but he will return to first base at some point.

“It feels good,” Rizzo said of the arm. “Obviously, the CT scan isn’t gonna lie, but it feels good. … We’ll continue to build.”

Rizzo is confident the controlled environment of serving as a DH in a rehab game reduces the risk of aggravating the injury and he’s ready to give it a shot.

“This is what I get paid to do: to play,’’ Rizzo said after taking batting practice prior to Wednesday’s 8-1 win against Cleveland in The Bronx. “I miss playing. I want to come back and help this team.”

They need it, as the Yankees have gotten among the worst production from their first basemen all season.

With LeMahieu out of the lineup, Rice got just his third start since Aug. 10 — and his sixth overall against a lefty — on Wednesday and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

In his last nine games, the once-hot Rice is 1-for-23 with four walks and has fanned seven times.

Aaron Boone said he held LeMahieu out in part because of the length of Tuesday’s 12-inning loss and also acknowledged LeMahieu hasn’t been hitting well again, in a 2-for-19 funk.

And Tuesday was another tough night for LeMahieu, as he lined out to center, but then failed to get a run in with the infield in, hit into a double play and popped out with runners in scoring position.

LeMahieu had plenty of company in not coming through Tuesday, but his struggles have been more pronounced than just about anyone else on the team.

Alex Verdugo is another Yankee in a slump.

He is hitless in his last 15 at-bats and has just two hits in his last 29 at-bats.

“He’s been up and down the last couple months after he was a force the first few months,” Boone said before the game. “He’s such a good hitter [and] he’s a young man. I feel like there’s a hot streak coming. He keeps working.”

Right-hander Ian Hamilton (right lat strain) and infielder Jon Berti (calf strain) are scheduled to begin rehab assignments with Double-A Somerset on Friday, where they will be joined by Rizzo and Clarke Schmidt.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. (elbow) took batting practice again and said he felt he will be back when he’s eligible to come off the IL.