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Ben Rice is pictured while catching during the Yankees\u2019 August 2025 game. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post<\/p>\nUntil Ben Rice actually dons catcher\u2019s gear in a game this season, the questions will continue about whether the Yankees are going to use him there to optimize their lineup.<\/p>\n
But another week has passed, and despite the Yankees continuing to leave the door open for it to happen, there has still been no movement toward Rice getting behind the plate.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet,\u201d manager Aaron Boone said over the weekend. \u201cWe talk about it a lot. That\u2019s not in the plans right now, but we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are multiple reasons for that, perhaps the most significant one being that the Yankees do not want to mess with the good thing they have going in Rice, whose .998 OPS was second in the majors as of Monday and 19 home runs led the team. <\/p>\n
The lefty slugger has done so while starting 37 games at first base and 24 at DH.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously he\u2019s so important to our lineup,\u201d Boone said. \u201cYou start ramping him up in a demanding position \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Ben Rice is pictured while catching during the Yankees\u2019 August 2025 game. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post<\/p>\n
Left unsaid is that the Yankees can ill afford to lose Rice at a time when they are already expected to be without Aaron Judge for a good chunk of the summer. <\/p>\n
Getting behind the plate \u2014 which would be a process that takes time to build up to, not just throwing him right into nine-inning games \u2014 would put Rice at higher risk of injury, or at least more wear and tear that could sap his offensive production.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Rice dealt with some of that wear and tear during spring training, when he was bouncing between first base and catcher in workouts but never caught an exhibition because the Yankees did not want to overdo his workload. <\/p>\n
He was still catching occasional bullpens and doing some defensive work behind the plate during the regular season until missing a few games with a bruised hand in early May. <\/p>\n
Since then, the Yankees have pumped the brakes on his catching work, though Boone said the hand is no longer an issue.<\/p>\n
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Ben Rice celebrates after hitting a home run during the Yankees\u2019 June 5 game. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cI love catching,\u201d said Rice, who came up through the system as a catcher. \u201cRight now, it hasn\u2019t been in the equation as much. With that being said, I always appreciate the position so much. That\u2019s why I still enjoy sitting in on the [catching] meetings and talking with our catchers about game planning.\u201d<\/p>\n