The Yankees are set to welcome Giancarlo Stanton back from the injured list in the relatively near future. Bringing the slugger back into the fold can only be a good thing for the offense overall, but it does create one major issue for the team: finding playing time for breakout DH Ben Rice. With Stanton set to reclaim DH on a regular basis and Paul Goldschmidt entrenched at first base for the time being, it’s going to be difficult for Rice to get the same level of playing time he has to this point in the season.
Losing him as a regular in the lineup would be a shame, however, as the 26-year-old has slashed an excellent .240/.326/.495 with a wRC+ of 130 across 57 games this year. That’s already not been quite an everyday role due to the outfield logjam created by the emergence of Trent Grisham in an outfield that was already committed to Jasson Dominguez and Cody Bellinger as regulars alongside Aaron Judge, but Rice has still been a fixture of the club’s lineup this year.
There have been some indications that Stanton may not start every single day upon his return in order to keep him healthier throughout the remainder of the year and allow Rice to get keep getting starts, but Jack Curry of the YES Network relays that Aaron Boone told reporters today that Rice could get some starts behind the plate when Stanton returns. It comes as a bit of a surprise since Rice hasn’t made a single appearance at catcher this season, but it’s not entirely out of left field. Rice has continued to do pregame work as a catcher this season even as he’s settled into a DH and backup first base role, and of course spent the majority of his time in the minor leagues as a catcher.
Austin Wells has held his own behind the plate this year with a .227/.294/.476 (111 wRC+) slash line in 56 games, but Rice undeniably has a bigger bat. Getting the slugger even one start a week behind the plate would significantly improve his path towards significant playing time in the lineup, as it would allow Goldschmidt and Stanton to both start the majority of games at first base and DH respectively while still allowing Rice to remain at least a half-time player. Of course, it’s possible a catcher experiment could be short-lived for Rice if he proves to be a liability defensively behind the plate, but it’s still an exciting opportunity for the youngster to prove himself capable at his natural position and earn more playing time down the stretch this year.
Whether Rice will continue to get a more extended look as a semi-regular option behind the plate remains to be seen. It seems likely that J.C. Escarra will continue to remain on the roster as a more traditional backup for Wells given the fact that Rice figures to continue being in the DH mix on a regular basis. It’s not impossible to imagine that changing if Rice takes to the position especially well, but it’s also possible that an injury to Stanton or Goldschmidt at some point could create an opening for Rice elsewhere that pushes him off the position. When talented young players are blocked within their current organization, that often leads to trade speculation as the deadline approaches. It seems unlikely that the Yankees would consider going down that path with Rice, however, given that Goldschmidt is set to reach free agency after this season and Rice looks to be a fairly natural choice to take the reins at first base in 2026.