Yankees' Paul Goldschmidt sees bright future for Ben Rice, embraces mentorship role

TAMPA, Fla. – Paul Goldschmidt, a four-time Gold Glove winner at first base, said there’s one trait he looks for first and foremost in a young player trying to learn in the position.

And he saw it early last season with Ben Rice.

“I think No. 1, and Ben obviously has this, is you want to be good at it,” Goldschmidt told Newsday this week. “Because anyone who wants to be good at it, over time and with reps, can get better… he’s going to keep getting more and more experience, he’s going to keep getting better over there with all the reps, with the work he’s putting him. I think he has the potential to be a great first baseman.”

One of the reasons Yankees captain Aaron Judge pushed behind the scenes for Goldschmidt’s return was the immediate impact the seven-time All-Star had in the clubhouse in 2025, his first season in pinstripes.

Among the players impacted was Rice, the Yankees’ 12th-round draft pick in 2021 who came up through the system primarily at catcher before making his big-league debut in 2024 at first base.

Rice broke camp last season as the club’s everyday DH and ended up playing in 138 games even after the return of Giancarlo Stanton in mid-June. That was mostly because of his ability to make hard contact that never really let up from spring training on. Rice, who hit .255 with 26 homers and an .836 OPS, appeared in 50 games at first base, 48 at DH and 36 at catcher.

Rice gradually saw more and more time at first base in the second half of the season, especially with Goldschmidt slumping.

And Yankees’ hierarchy – meaning GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone – made clear their preference for this season was for the lefty-swinging Rice to be their everyday first baseman, even with his struggles against lefthanded pitching (which Goldschmidt mostly crushed in 2025). That was the case before the 38-year-old Goldschmidt was re-signed earlier this month on a one-year $4 million deal, and it is the case after.

All of which is fine with Goldschmidt who, while preparing himself to be an everyday player,  is OK serving in a mentor role while occasionally starting against tough lefties, being a pinch-hit option or late-game defensive replacement. Mentoring is something he did with Rice last season and looks forward to doing more of this season.

Because, while coming up with Diamondbacks in 2011, Goldschmidt said he learned the most about the position not from coaches but from veteran teammates with experience at first base – Lyle Overbay and Xavier Nady and, later in 2013, from Eric Hinske (all three of those players, coincidentally, spent time with the Yankees in their careers).

Still, Goldschmidt, who went 2-for-3 with a homer in Thursday's 7-3 victory over Atlanta, said he doesn’t want to be too much of a voice in Rice’s – or any teammate’s – ear because players have enough of those already.

“I’m very aware of ‘overcoaching’ for something like that,” Goldschmidt said. “But I also know that’s a role I was thankful guys played for me and that I can play for him (Rice) and for other guys. I’m very aware of trying not to say too much because you want someone to be athletic and just play. But also, sometimes there’s a point of, ‘Hey, this could be helpful.’”

For his part, Rice all along has been a willing pupil, absorbing as much as he can regarding the many nuances of first base; footwork around the back, picks from the dirt, reading bunts, cutoffs and more.

“We haven’t had a ton of days where we were out there working together, but the few that we have had so far this spring, I’m telling him to just let it fly and say what he wants … good, bad, ugly whatever,” Rice said. “I talk to him about hitting, too. Literally everything. This guy’s played in the big leagues for so long and has done so well.”

Multiple rival scouts assigned to the Yankees throughout last season, many of them skeptical of Rice playing first base, said they saw marked improvement in the field from the early part of 2025 to the end of it for the now 27-year-old.

“Night and day,” one NL scout said this spring. “I wouldn’t say he’s good there yet, but you can see he’s worked at it. I’d say I was wrong on him because when I saw him in the minors I didn’t think he’d make it in the field (in the majors), at catcher or first base. He’s done the work.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.