The New York Yankees are always a team to watch in the offseason, especially with tons of cash to spend. Going into the MLB Winter Meetings, a big question was about the future of Ben Rice. Rice got the start over Paul Goldschmidt in Game 3 of the Wild Card series, which sparked questions about the future of those players.
Rice broke out big time in September, hitting .316 with 25 hits, 4 home runs, 14 RBIs, and 14 runs in 22 games. That ultimately made the decision to switch Goldschmidt and Rice constantly a somewhat easy one for Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
During the Winter Meetings, Boone gave some comments that might hint at a bigger role for Rice going forward, via Greg Joyce of The New York Post.
‘FWIW, Aaron Boone said he expects Ben Rice to play “a lot” against lefty starters next season. They shielded him some from those matchups this year, in part because they had Paul Goldschmidt, who crushed lefties.
Boone also admitted that he can envision Rice taking a giant step in 2026, via Yankees Videos.
“He's the type of guy that gets after it. I saw him the other day at Yankee Stadium. He was down hitting. I think he's gonna be one of the really good hitters in Major League Baseball for a while,” Boone said.
Rice finished the season hitting .255 with 26 home runs and 65 RBI in the regular season, although he had just four hits in 18 at0bats in the playoffs.
Still, the future seems bright for Rice, and the Yankees seem to have a plan for him going forward.
