{"id":568695,"date":"2026-02-12T19:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/568695\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T19:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:04:18","slug":"ny-yankees-clarify-ben-rices-role-following-paul-goldschmidt-re-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/568695\/","title":{"rendered":"NY Yankees clarify Ben Rice&#8217;s role following Paul Goldschmidt re-signing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/new-york-yankees\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"New York Yankees\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New York Yankees<\/a> recently re-signed Paul Goldschmidt, a move that immediately raised questions about Ben Rice\u2019s role with the team. Rice had emerged as the primary first baseman last season, but with Goldschmidt back in the mix, the team had to clarify how playing time would be divided.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/paul-goldschmidt\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Goldschmidt\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Goldschmidt<\/a>, a proven hitter against left-handed pitching, is expected to serve as a key bench player. However, the Yankees are committed to keeping Rice as the everyday first baseman, with Goldschmidt providing strategic depth and flexibility.<\/p>\n<p>Yankees manager <a href=\"https:\/\/bolavip.com\/en\/topic\/aaron-boone\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Aaron Boone\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Aaron Boone<\/a> addressed the plan, according to a report from Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. \u201c(Goldschmidt\u2019s) prepared for everything. Obviously, Ben Rice has earned that next step\u2026 I\u2019m hoping that even goes up this year, but I see Goldy playing a big role, even if we are all healthy, but more of a role player if we\u2019re all healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    How Goldschmidt fits in <\/p>\n<p>Boone emphasized that Rice will continue to handle the majority of first base duties, while Goldschmidt\u2019s presence allows the Yankees to optimize matchups, especially against left-handed pitching. <\/p>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"i-amphtml-intrinsic-sizer\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyBoZWlnaHQ9IjEwODAiIHdpZHRoPSIxOTIwIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIvPg==\"\/> Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees reacts to an umpire\u2019s call. Ishika Samant\/Getty Images <\/p>\n<p>The manager also noted that Rice may catch occasionally when Boone wants Goldschmidt in the lineup versus a lefty, as Giancarlo Stanton retains the designated hitter role.<\/p>\n<p>  Rice\u2019s role for 2026 <\/p>\n<p>With a healthy roster, Rice is expected to start daily at first base and remain a central piece of the Yankees\u2019 lineup. Goldschmidt\u2019s return adds versatility, giving Boone options to rotate players and maintain offensive balance without disrupting the team\u2019s established rhythm.<\/p>\n<p>SURVEY Do you think Ben Rice should remain the Yankees\u2019 everyday first baseman with Goldschmidt back?<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-poll__title-wrapper__question-xs jsx-3883365378\">Do you think Ben Rice should remain the Yankees\u2019 everyday first baseman with Goldschmidt back?<\/p>\n<p class=\"article-poll__vote-counter article-poll__vote-counter-698e12ffd1eb01dac3090d69 jsx-3883365378\">already voted 27 fans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Yankees recently re-signed Paul Goldschmidt, a move that immediately raised questions about Ben Rice\u2019s role&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2376],"tags":[5,4,1690,62,2548,2547,118,142],"class_list":{"0":"post-568695","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-yankees","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-yankees","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkyankees","14":"tag-paul-goldschmidt","15":"tag-yankees"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116059220593088584","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}