Yankees’ Ben Rice is dealing with minor injury

It’s the kind of injury that sounds ridiculous until you remember that professional athletes exist in a completely different physical universe than the rest of us. A normal person sleeps on their neck wrong and complains about it at the water cooler. A big leaguer does it and suddenly the organization’s entire depth chart is under review.

But here’s the thing: this isn’t just about a stiff neck. Rice’s absence from live BP highlights exactly why the Yankees were smart to add veteran insurance this offseason—and why his development remains one of the most critical storylines heading into March.

Why Rice’s Health Matters More Than You Think

Let’s be blunt: Ben Rice isn’t just a roster fill-in. He’s a cornerstone piece for a Yankees lineup that desperately needs left-handed power and positional flexibility. The surface numbers from 2025 tell us he hit 26 home runs with an excellent, but not quite elite 133 wRC+, but Baseball Savant’s advanced metrics paint a completely different picture—one that suggests the Yankees have a legitimate weapon if they can keep him healthy and in the lineup.

Take a look at his percentile rankings. Rice posted a 67th percentile mark in batting run value, which alone makes him a net positive offensive contributor. But it’s the underlying batted ball data that should have Yankees fans paying attention. His 97th percentile xwOBA (.394) and 94th percentile xBA (.283) aren’t flukes—they’re screaming that his contact quality is elite, even if the traditional slash line doesn’t fully reflect it yet.

Here’s what the front office sees: Rice barrels the ball at a 92nd percentile rate (15.4%), crushes it with 95th percentile average exit velocity (93.3 mph), and absolutely punishes pitches in his sweet spot (90th percentile LA sweet-spot percentage at 39.3%). When he makes contact, he’s doing serious damage. The 97th percentile hard-hit rate (56.1%) and 91th percentile chase percentage (21.2%) tell me he’s not chasing garbage—he’s hunting pitches he can destroy.

The real kicker? His 97th percentile xSLG (.557) suggests he should be hitting for significantly more power. That gap between expected and actual performance is where coaching staffs earn their money. If Rice can close that delta even slightly, the Yankees suddenly have a middle-of-the-order bat who can protect Aaron Judge and provide genuine run production from the left side.

The Spring Training Plan

Assuming Rice shakes off this neck tweak in the next 24-48 hours, the Yankees need to load him up with at-bats immediately. There’s no time to ease him back in. He should be seeing live pitching every single day, facing the toughest arms the organization can throw at him, and getting reps against left-handed pitching specifically. That’s where the Yankees need to see growth—can he handle same-side matchups or is he going to be a platoon piece?

The organization brought back Paul Goldschmidt to serve as depth and veteran support. Exactly how much playing time he gets will depend entirely on Rice’s progress against lefties.

If he’s back in the cage by the weekend and shows no lingering effects, this injury becomes a footnote. If it lingers, or if he tweaks something else trying to compensate, the Yankees’ margin for error at first base evaporates fast. The organization did the right thing by bringing in veteran depth, but make no mistake: Rice is the plan. Everything else is insurance. And right now, the Yankees need their insurance policy to stop sleeping on his neck wrong and start mashing baseballs.