{"id":573454,"date":"2026-02-15T05:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T05:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/573454\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T05:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T05:33:15","slug":"yankees-news-ben-rice-suffers-minor-neck-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/573454\/","title":{"rendered":"Yankees news: Ben Rice suffers minor neck injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greg Joyce | X<\/a>: After learning on Friday that Cam Schlittler was dealing with a back\/lat issue that is not believed to be serious, the team reported that first baseman Ben Rice is also nursing a minor injury. The young first baseman, per Joyce, \u2018slept on his neck wrong the other night\u2019 and that\u2019s why he has not been hitting the last few days. The hope is that he starts swinging again in a matter of days, possibly hours. Big things are expected from Rice, who put together a breakout season in 2025 with 26 home runs and a 133 wRC+.<\/p>\n

Francys Romero | X:<\/a> Heavily criticized in recent seasons for their lack of success in the international market, the Yankees secured their first major prospect in the Mario Garza era: Venezuelan catcher Sebastian P\u00e9rez, who is expected to sign for a $1.7 million bonus. The real challenge for the Yankees will be actually signing the young star when the next period opens in January 15, 2027. According to Romero, P\u00e9rez \u201cfeatures elite exit velocity at the plate and premium defensive skills behind the dish.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MLB.com | Bryan Hoch:<\/a> Gerrit Cole threw his first official bullpen session of the spring on Friday, and reportedly touched 96 mph on the radar gun. Despite the pitcher himself doing his best to control expectations, he looks ahead of schedule and could return in April. When asked about his ace and how he looked, manager Aaron Boone gave an encouraging response: \u2018He looked like Gerrit Cole.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cJust really efficient, really great command,\u201d Boone told Hoch. \u201cWhen I think of Gerrit and his greatness, a lot of it ties to his delivery. Everything looks like it\u2019s coming out free and easy. I liken it to a diver that dives off the high board and just goes in the water, making no splash. That\u2019s Gerrit.\u201d Catcher Austin Wells also praised the veteran pitcher, saying he could get outs in the majors right now. The Cole Train is in full swing this spring.<\/p>\n

MLB Trade Rumors | Anthony Franco<\/a> Late on Friday, the Yankees added a veteran right-hander to their bullpen mix. They signed Rafael Montero to a minor league deal with an invitation to camp, with a $1.8 million base salary if he makes the club. Montero played with three clubs in the 2025 campaign: the Astros, the Braves, and the Tigers, compiling a 4.48 ERA in 60.1 innings pitched.<\/p>\n

SNY | Phillip Martinez<\/a> Last spring, Yankees prospect Chase Hampton was diagnosed with a flexor strain that resulted in Tommy John surgery. After several months of grueling rehab, the right-hander is trying to show the organization he is ready to pick right where he left off.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t know his progression, so to speak. I\u2019ve seen a couple of his bullpens now and it keeps ticking up,\u201d Boone said after Saturday\u2019s practice. \u201cI know he is chomping at the bit for a little bit more because he is feeling really good as well.\u00a0Boone added that Hampton is looking \u2018pretty good right now\u2019 and that bodes well for his future and his chances. The skipper didn\u2019t want to predict if the young righty is going to pitch in Grapefruit League games, though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Greg Joyce | X: After learning on Friday that Cam Schlittler was dealing with a back\/lat issue that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1797,2458,1217,5,731,20455,2281,43972,4,62,4130,7965,70],"class_list":["post-573454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-aaron-boone","tag-american-league-division-series","tag-austin-wells","tag-baseball","tag-ben-rice","tag-cam-schlittler","tag-gerrit-cole","tag-greg-joyce","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-rafael-montero","tag-the-astros","tag-toronto-blue-jays"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116073018525613244","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573454","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=573454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}