Yankees' Ben Rice takes grounders at third — and it raises some questions
Ben Rice of the Yankees follows through on his second-inning home run against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It was a few hours before the Yankees took on the Mets at the Stadium on Sunday night when there was a thought-provoking development in the infield. Ben Rice was fielding ground balls at third base.
The Yankees’ party line right now is that Rice is just doing it “for fun” and not as part of a strategy or plan. Still, the 26-year-old has been a strong offensive contributor — mostly as the designated hitter — and the club might not want to lose his bat whenever Giancarlo Stanton is activated from the 60-day IL and becomes the everyday DH.
Rice is a catcher by trade and the Yankees worked with him to make him into a solid first baseman. He has played there when starter Paul Goldschmidt either got a day at DH or a day off.
And Rice has delivered in the lineup. Entering Wednesday night against the Rangers — where he started at first base and batted second — he had a .259/.352/.552 slash line with 10 home runs and 22 RBIs in 42 games. He ranked fifth in the American League in slugging and ninth in extra-base hits with 21.
When Stanton returns, there will be a potential conundrum about how the team might keep Rice in the batting order.
Asked Wednesday about taking ground balls at third base, Rice replied, “I just do it for fun. Over at first base sometimes my feet get a little stagnant . . . When you go over there to the left side of the infield, you have to move your feet to make the throws.”
When manager Aaron Boone was asked Tuesday about Rice taking balls at third base he said, in part, “Never rule out anything.”
In college at Dartmouth, in the minor leagues and with the big-league club, Rice hasn’t played a game at the hot corner.
“He’s done it a few times,” Boone said of him taking ground balls at third, adding that Goldschmidt has occasionally taken ground balls at shortstop. “I think it’s just keeping them athletic, keeping them playing and moving. And I think it’s always good. When pitchers are out shagging [fly balls], I think there’s value in all that athletically speaking. So never rule out anything, but, no, there’s nothing like that we’re [planning].”
Given that Rice has already made a move from his traditional position of catcher to an infield spot, Boone was asked whether he sees Rice as having the skill set to play third base.
“I don’t know — look, it’s a lot to ask,” he said. “I said this before: I think third basemen in the Hall of Fame are the smallest group. And I think the reason for that is because, generally speaking, it’s a position that you got to provide offense at. But you’ve got to be a real infielder [too].
“I feel like my entire life — and this is coming from a third baseman — we’ve always wanted to just stick someone at third and it’s not that simple. I’ve seen him over there a couple times, and I like how he moves over there and things like that. But it’s not much more than that right now.”
When Jazz Chisholm Jr. is able to return from the right oblique strain that’s landed him on the injured list, he is expected to again be the starting second baseman. DJ LeMahieu has been playing second base in his absence but has a lot of experience at third base.
Since he came to the Yankees in 2019, LeMahieu has played 254 games there, and before the Chisholm injury he was envisioned as the Yankees’ starting third baseman this season.
Before first pitch on Wednesday, Rice was asked whether he’d try to play third base if the club wanted him to. And while his tone suggested he might consider it, he replied, “It’s hard to say anything based on a hypothetical.”
Notes & quotes: Lefthander Ryan Yarbrough got the spot start on Wednesday night and Boone said that the many roles he’s played for the Yankees have been invaluable. “He’s been awesome. He’s been so important for us,” Boone said. “Whether it’s picking us up on a day when from the pen and he’s been able to give us innings and bridge the gap or . . . starting a couple games, he’s just really valuable.”
With Anthony Rieber
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
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