{"id":69784,"date":"2025-06-14T06:07:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T06:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=69784"},"modified":"2025-06-14T06:07:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T06:07:35","slug":"yankees-make-ben-rice-decision-amid-giancarlo-stantons-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=69784","title":{"rendered":"Yankees Make Ben Rice Decision Amid Giancarlo Stanton&#8217;s Return"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2182013246_1d38e7-e1747343133279.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2182013246_1d38e7-e1747343133279.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2182013246_1d38e7-e1747343133279.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/GettyImages-2182013246_1d38e7-e1747343133279.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Yankees Make Ben Rice Decision Amid Giancarlo Stanton's Return\" width=\"780\" height=\"440\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Getty<\/p>\n<p>Giancarlo Stanton celebrates after a home run in the World Series.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton could be joining the team over the weekend against the Boston Red Sox.<\/p>\n<p>Stanton, who has continued to swing the bat at a very high level for much of his Yankees career, has dealt with multiple injuries. At this point, all the Yankees can worry about is getting him healthy for October, which he\u2019s excelled at in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>A year ago, Stanton was the best hitter on the Yankees\u2019 postseason roster, winning the American League Championship Series MVP. He blasted seven home runs, drove in 16, and hit .273 in 55 playoff at-bats. If that\u2019s the production the Yankees could get from Stanton in the postseason, they\u2019ll live with his injuries.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Yankees also need to field their best nine players every night. Stanton is still among that group right now, but with Ben Rice swinging the bat at a high level, they need to keep him in the lineup.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Ben Rice to Potentially Play Catcher<\/h2>\n<p>According to a report from Jack Curry of the YES Network, the New York Yankees may make that happen. According to Curry, skipper Aaron Boone said that Rice could start games as a catcher.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBen Rice hasn\u2019t started a game at catcher this season,\u201d Curry revealed on X. \u201cBut, with Giancarlo Stanton\u2019s return looming, Aaron Boone said Rice could start some games behind the dish. Stay tuned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rice was a catcher coming out of the minor leagues, but has been designated to a DH and first base role. However, if needed, the youngster can go behind the dish.<\/p>\n<p>According to Greg Joyce of the New York Post, Stanton could return this week, but he also added that Rice has continued to swing the bat at a high level and has forced his way into the lineup.<\/p>\n<p>For the Yankees, that\u2019s something they have to consider.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAaron Boone opened the door for that to happen Wednesday while discussing how the Yankees will get everyone enough at-bats once Giancarlo Stanton returns from the injured list, which could be as soon as this weekend at Fenway Park.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRice, who went 1-for-5 with an RBI in the Yankees\u2019 6-3 win over the Royals, has caught just 7 \u00b2\/\u2083 innings in his big league career, with the Yankees instead needing him at first base last season and DH this year because of injuries, though his bat has continued to force his way into the lineup,\u201d he wrote .<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Yankees Will Have to Move Some Players\u2019 Positions Around<\/h2>\n<p>There are some other tough decisions the New York Yankees will have to make if they allow Rice to catch in certain games. With Austin Wells playing at a decent level, posting a 111 wRC+, it isn\u2019t like they can just take him out of the lineup, either.<\/p>\n<p>However, with J. C. Escarra, that\u2019s another decision the Yankees have to make. According to MLB Trade Rumors, Escarra will remain on the roster as a traditional backup for the Yankees, allowing Rice to be a designated hitter while they figure things out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhether 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,\u201d they wrote .<\/p>\n<p>Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Yankees will have to make some tough decisions with the return of Giancarlo Stanton imminent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":69785,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Yankees Make Ben Rice Decision Amid Giancarlo Stanton&#039;s Return - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=69784\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yankees Make Ben Rice Decision Amid Giancarlo Stanton&#039;s Return - 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