Yankees Shuffle Lineup After Fifth Straight Loss to Angels

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Graves | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 4:45 PM ET

The New York Yankees will be without Giancarlo Stanton in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Stanton will receive a breather after starting each of the last two games at designated hitter.

With Stanton out, Jasson Dominguez will serve as the designated hitter and bat eighth. The lineup shuffle also includes Ben Rice making his first start of the year at catcher. Rice has appeared in seven games behind the plate, with this being his first career start.

Ben Rice makes his first @MLB start behind the plate tonight: https://t.co/rmRdSoqBmc
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) June 18, 2025

Though primarily a catcher in the minors, Rice has seen limited action behind the plate since being called up. Rice has seen most of his at-bats coming as a designated hitter or at first base.

However with Paul Goldschmidt entrenched at first and Stanton back in the DH mix, Rice's versatility is being tested, and potentially rewarded.

Rice isn't expected to challenge Austin Wells for the primary catching job. Instead, Rice could gain valuable playing time if he proves capable defensively. His left-handed bat remains a potential asset to a right-heavy lineup, and Wednesday's start may hint at how the Yankees plan to keep him involved moving forward.

The Yankees hope this lineup adjustment will help them finally end their five-game losing streak.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: