DETROIT — While the 2025 season is still in its early stages, Ben Rice has already made a compelling case to be a fixture in the Yankees’ lineup.
The 26-year-old is now hitting .306 with a 1.086 OPS, three home runs and four RBI while starting 10 of the Yankees’ 12 games. Rice has been consistently crushing the ball over 100 mph since spring training; the latest instance came on his pivotal two-run homer in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s 4-3 win over the Tigers.
“He just continues to hit the ball really hard,” Aaron Boone said after Rice took fellow lefty Tyler Holton deep at 108.1 mph. “I don’t know what the exit velo was, but that ball was hammered.”
Rice has primarily filled the DH spot, which was vacated by Giancarlo Stanton’s tennis elbows. Stanton is far from his season debut, but Boone was still asked how the slugger’s eventual return – assuming that happens – could impact Rice during the Yankees’ recent road trip.
The manager said that he hasn’t thought that far ahead yet.
There’s no rush, as Stanton only recently started hitting off a Trajekt machine and will need a rehab assignment after missing all of spring training. But if Rice continues to rake and others stay healthy, it will be interesting to see how the Yankees handle the youngster’s playing time down the road.
A catcher by trade, Rice has barely played the position in the majors. That’s because the Yankees have Austin Wells starting behind the plate and J.C. Escarra serving as the primary backup.
Rice spent time learning first base last year and has already made a few appearances there this season, but Paul Goldschmidt is the starter at first.
With that in mind, there’s been some light speculation that Rice could — or perhaps should — try learning a corner outfield spot, which would give the Yankees another way to keep his bat in the lineup when the no-defense Stanton returns.
But Boone noted that Rice has never played the outfield. The skipper said “not really” when asked if the Yankees have at least discussed the idea.
Rice said the Yankees have not talked to him about learning any new positions.
“Not up to this point, no,” Rice said.
Asked if he’d be open to other spots, he replied, “I’d be open to being in the lineup.”
For now, there are plenty of at-bats to be had for Rice, especially if he continues to hit lefties.
Rice is only hitting .222 vs. southpaws thus far, but he has an .819 OPS and two dingers against them. Rice hit just .135 with a .483 OPS against left-handers in 2024.
“I would just say approach-wise, it’s been feeling good,” Rice said of his left-on-left matchups. “The more experience, the better. It’s just continuing to get reps against them. The more I see, the more I’ll improve.”
While the sample is small, Boone feels that Rice has had “really competitive at-bats, for the most part, against lefties.”
Generally speaking, Boone has been pleased with Rice’s ability to control the zone and knack for “killing the ball” so far this season. Rice’s quality of contact metrics are almost entirely in the 92nd percentile or better. His 72.7 Hard-Hit% is in the 100th percentile, while his 96.7-mph average exit velocity and 27.3 Barrel% are in the 98th percentile.
There’s no doubt that the 10-15 pounds Rice put on between last June and spring training has made a difference.
Aaron Judge said he didn’t notice Rice’s weight gain this spring, but he “could hear the difference in the sound coming off his bat.” The Yankees’ captain also noticed that Rice “tightened up” his mechanics.
“He got a little taste of the big leagues, did his thing last year,” Judge said. “But I think coming into this year, he was a man on a mission. He talked about a lot of things he wanted to improve on in the offseason, and then he came in here and did it all.
“It’s cool to kind of see him put it all together so far this season.”
Boone added that experience has helped Rice after he went through some ups and downs last season.
This year, Boone and Yankees coaches have noticed a more comfortable and confident Rice at the plate. Then again, he has good reason to be that way as he continues to earn everyday playing time.
“If I’m hitting the ball like that,” Boone said, “I’d probably feel pretty confident walking up there too.”
