It remains to be seen as to when New York Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton will return from injury. However, how will Stanton's injury return impact his replacement, Ben Rice? Brendan Kuty of The Athletic addressed the question in a recent article.

“The simple answer: The Yankees would continue to cycle Rice through DH at-bats, especially against righties, as Stanton reacclimates to regular playing time,” Kuty wrote. “They could also give first baseman Paul Goldschmidt rest days in the middle of the summer against righties.”

Rice, 26, is expected by many people around the MLB world to enjoy a breakout season in 2025. The Yankees' versatile left-handed slugger is swinging the bat well early in the campaign. He is currently slashing .306/.419/.667/1.085 across 43 plate appearances. Rice has also hit three home runs and two doubles.

Rice's breakout season seemingly won't be overly-impacted once Stanton returns. As long as he maintains his impressive performance, Aaron Boone will need to find a way to keep him in the lineup.

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Stanton's return will be important for the Yankees, though. New York features a respectable offense, but adding another right-handed power-hitting bat to the Aaron Judge-led lineup will only help matters. Stanton's presence simply makes the lineup appear to be much deeper overall.

Sure, Stanton may not be the same MVP-caliber slugger he once was. With that being said, he can still make pitchers pay in a big way with any given swing. Stanton has some of the best power from the right-side of the plate in all of baseball.

His timeline remains uncertain as mentioned, though. Rice's contributions have been especially important with Stanton out.

The Yankees are currently 7-5 overall. It has been an up and down campaign so far for New York, but this is a Yankees ball club that could certainly get hot and go on a winning streak at some point.