Sep 28, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) hits a solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images John Jones-Imagn Images

Yankees Will Regret Sitting Ben Rice

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Michael Rosenstein | Last updated Sep 30, 2025 1:00 PM ET

When New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone officially posts the lineup for Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series with the Boston Red Sox, don't look for Ben Rice's name, because it likely won't be there.

Boone is expected to go with Austin Wells at catcher and Paul Goldschmidt at first base for the series opener. And at first glance, that makes sense, because Boone is playing the odds with the Red Sox starting left-hander Garrett Crochet in Game 1.

Rice is slashing .208/.271/.481 against left-handers this year, and keep in mind, Crochet is in the running for the American League Cy Young Award.

Wells is having a bit more success with southpaws, slashing .240/.285/.448. Goldschmidt is even better: .336/.411/.570.

When asked why he will go with Wells over Rice, Boone said, "Because I think Wells is really good back there and he's been really good with [Max] Fried. Wellsy is actually swinging the bat really good here down the stretch as well.

"Just because Rice isn't in there doesn't mean he doesn't impact the game in a big way," Boone continued, according to the New York Daily News' Gary Phillips. "Like that's a big thing with a lot of these matchups, it's like sometimes you're putting them in a better spot to impact the game. Sometimes when they're coming off the bench in a situation, whatever it may be."

Eric Canha-Imagn Images

However that doesn't take into account the fact that Rice was one of the Yankees' hottest hitters during the stretch run. He slashed .301/.333/.554 over the final 30 days of the season with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

Wells over the last 30 games? He hit .276 with two home runs and 10 RBIs. Goldschmidt? Just .224 with no home runs and two RBIs. Yes. Just two RBIs over the last month of the regular season.

Rice finished the season fifth on the Yankees with 26 home runs. In the playoffs, you ride or die with your best players. On a team which lives and dies by the long ball, putting Rice on the bench just doesn't make sense.

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This article first appeared on New York Yankees on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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