Headlines

  • Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September
  • Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft
  • 2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results
  • Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear
  • Astros Promote Brice Matthews
  • Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Yankees To Select Ben Rice

By Nick Deeds | June 18, 2024 at 7:49am CDT

The Yankees are selecting the contract of catcher/first baseman Ben Rice, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Rice will take over at first base with Anthony Rizzo expected to miss over a month due to a fractured arm. The Yankees have space open on their 40-man roster, so a corresponding move won’t be necessary to clear a spot for Rice.

Rice, 25, was a 12th-round pick by the Yankees in the 2021 draft out of Dartmouth but has hit quite well at every level of the minors despite his status as a late-round pick. He ranks as the #14 prospect in the club’s system per Baseball America and 12th according to MLB Pipeline. After spending the first two seasons of his professional career at the Single-A level, Rice enjoyed a breakout season in 2023, advancing across three levels of the minors to reach Double-A for the first time in his career. He slashed an impressive .324/.434/.615 in 332 trips to the plate across the Single-A, High-A, and Double-A levels that year—including an excellent .327/.401/.648 line with 30 extra-base hits (16 homers) in 48 games at Double-A Somerset.

Rice returned to Somerset to open the 2024 campaign and once again hit well at the level, albeit in not quite as dominant a fashion as his first taste of Double-A action. in 218 trips to the plate at the level this year, Rice posted a .261/.383/.511 slash line while slugging 12 home runs and going an impressive 8-for-8 on the basepaths. That performance was enough to earn Rice the call up to Triple-A on June 5, and he responded to the call by slashing an excellent .333/.419/.619 in his first 50 trips to the plate at the level. While it’s certainly unusual for a prospect to get promoted to the big leagues just 11 games into their tenure at the highest level of the minors, Rice’s exceptional offensive numbers are hard to deny.

The youngster’s bat is well ahead of his skills defensively behind the plate, a reality that caused the Yankees to begin getting him time at first base back in 2022. He’s split time between first and catcher since then, although between his status as an unfinished product behind the plate and the Yankees’ move to call him up following Rizzo’s injury it seems unlikely he’ll see much time behind the plate in the majors for the time being. Some scouts have suggested that first base could be his long term home, anyway, although there appears to still be some optimism he could stick behind the plate. BA notes that Rice has shown plenty of improvement in his blocking skills throughout his time with the Yankees, even as his ability to control the running game still leaves much to be desired.

Regardless of where the 25-year-old ultimately makes his home on the diamond in the long term, Rice seems ticketed for at least semi-regular reps at first base in his first taste of big league action. Previous reporting had suggested that the infield corners would be handled by Oswaldo Cabrera at third base and DJ LeMahieu at first while Rizzo was on the shelf, and it remains to be seen exactly how playing time will be distributed between the three players. It’s possible that Cabrera and LeMahieu could end up in a timeshare at third while Rice takes the lion’s share of playing time at first, but it stands to reason that LeMahieu could still see some time at first base against southpaws. After all, the lefty-swinging Rice showed a significant platoon split during the 2023 season. In 70 trips to the plate against same-handed pitching last year, he hit just .217/.329/.317. Given those concerns, it would hardly be a surprise if the Yankees decided to protect Rice against some or even all lefty pitchers in the early days of his big league career.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

New York Yankees Transactions Ben Rice

A’s To Designate J.D. Davis For Assignment
Main
The Opener: Contreras, Mariners, Guardians, MLBTR Chat
View Comments (61)
Post a Comment

61 Comments

  1. 28rings

    1 year ago

    hopefully he hits because if he doesn’t they ruined ANOTHER fringe prospect they should have traded (Florial, Peraza, Pereira, Wells etc.)

    Reply
    • mlbnyyfan

      1 year ago

      ABOUT TIME!!!! Good luck a shame.It took an injury for you to get a chance.

      2
      Reply
    • mlbnyyfan

      1 year ago

      Yankees must rely on younger players in order to pay Soto. It’s Now or never.

      10
      Reply
      • Doron

        1 year ago

        Yup.
        Torres and his circa 15 mil, Rizzo and his net 11 mil (17-6 million buyout), Verdugo and his 9 million are the base of the money that will be needed to sign Soto.

        The Yankees HAVE to bring up prospects that stick.

        2
        Reply
        • jerseyjohn

          1 year ago

          They need prospect to stick for sure but… You do realize Soto is on the books for 31 mil? He gets Torres money added on top and maybe Kahnle’s 5 mil. He’s not getting 60 mil per season.

          2
          Reply
        • Doron

          1 year ago

          That is 35 million coming off the books from 3 players that are replacable from within with pre-arbitration salary players.
          Soto will be getting a 10-15 million bump up, maybe more.

          1
          Reply
        • LordD99

          1 year ago

          Yes. In order to afford the high-cost Judge’s and Soto’s, they need to balance them out with the low-cost Volpe’s, Dominguez’s and Rice’s of the world. I think Rice’s bat is going to play quite well in the majors, although it’s possible he’s not quite ready. We’re about to find out. Good thing, though, is the bar to clear isn’t that high as Rizzo wasn’t performing so far. Having a lefty 1B/DH type who can also serve as a third-string catcher when needed has it’s value.

          3
          Reply
      • 28rings

        1 year ago

        we can afford to pay Soto, Soto is already making $31 million, even if we give him $50 million a year it’s only $19 million more than he’s making this year and we have $ 120 million coming off the books this year alone – another $36 million coming off for 2026 & another $20 million coming off for 2027

        2
        Reply
        • Doron

          1 year ago

          Let’s not forget that one of the FA’s is Clay Holmes.
          The Yankees will be needing a Closer.

          I wonder what Holmes will be asking.
          I don’t think he is going to be gunning for the moon here, but figure at least 20 million per is a base number.

          Reply
        • 28rings

          1 year ago

          we got burned by Chapman and Britton deals – I doubt we give that much $$$ to a closer again considering how well Cashman and Blake are at creating relievers out of thin air

          3
          Reply
        • Doron

          1 year ago

          He has what, 3 seasons of being the Closer for the Yankees, and doing a really good job while at it.
          I think he could get that number, obviously not with the Yankees.,

          Reply
        • Doron

          1 year ago

          I think that Soto and Boras are eyeing the $46 million AAV of Ohtani as their magic number.

          At Age 26 going into Free Agency, $600 million for 15 is not entirely off, and if they stick to the $46 million, they probably get less years.

          With Verlander probably not pitching enough innings to trigger his player option, Cohen will have more money to make a play.

          Reply
        • Doron

          1 year ago

          I agree, I doubt the Yankees make a play for him if his asking price is in that range, I do however think they offer him a Qualifying Offer.

          1
          Reply
        • 28rings

          1 year ago

          Judge only had two teams going after him, was 5 years older than Soto will be and it was 2 years of inflation ago

          Reply
        • 28rings

          1 year ago

          highest paid closers RN are Diaz $19.65 million, Hader $19 million – I don’t think Holmes eclipses them

          Reply
        • 28rings

          1 year ago

          the Qualifying Offer will be higher than $20 million, it was $20.325 million last year

          Reply
    • YankeesBleacherCreature

      1 year ago

      How does any prospect get “ruined” when they’re given ample chances to play everyday?

      10
      Reply
      • JoeBrady

        1 year ago

        28rings was cherry-picking. Half of all prospects, even good ones, probably wash out. Saying “we should’ve traded so-and-so”, after having seen their stats, is meaningless.

        2
        Reply
        • 28rings

          1 year ago

          more than half… look a the baby bombers: Judge & the next few months of Gleyber are all that remains… Fowler, Andujar, Frazier, Bird, Sanchez, Refsnyder, Tyler Austin, Wade all flamed out and/or got hurt… and that’s not even counting the pitchers – I think we set a record for most pre-pitch clock TJ surgeries

          Reply
        • User 4014041831

          1 year ago

          Its been some years since 2018 but Miguel Andujar with A’s trying to get enough positive results and get ABs.

          Not alot of wear and tear on his tires so to speak.

          Can Andujar get 350 ABs? ______________________

          With the NYY offense they don’t need much from Mr Rice. Just above average defense, save some errors on bad throws. Run Prevention. Throw out some basestealers
          It is always good to have 3 catchers

          Hit .200 with 5 HRs – 20 RBIs 75 ABs?

          Rizzo is going to be out longer than projected.

          Bench batting and 1B defensive coach role

          Reply
        • 28rings

          1 year ago

          “Not alot of wear and tear on his tires”?? if you don’t count a torn meniscus, torn glenoid labrum, 2 shoulder surgeries, knee surgery and being beaten at gunpoint

          1
          Reply
        • 28rings

          1 year ago

          Andujar has only had a .662 OPS since coming back from the knee surgery… he will be lucky to get 250 AB

          Reply
        • Baseball dude

          1 year ago

          And you may very well be adding Dominguez to that list !!

          Reply
        • Doron

          1 year ago

          I really hope that Miguel Andujar bounces back.
          What happened to him sucked, I hope he does well except against the Yankees.

          Reply
        • NYG4246

          1 year ago

          I’ve been saying for years, if andujar gets consistent AB’s he is a very good hitter

          Reply
      • 28rings

        1 year ago

        by coming up and hitting .151 like Pereira did

        Reply
      • Fever Pitch Guy

        1 year ago

        YBC – I think they are repeating the sometimes true but often not belief that if a player is called up before they are ready it causes them to lose confidence and cave under pressure.

        Of course it’s very difficult if not impossible to prove. Guys like Franchy and Dalbec who rake in AAA aren’t choking in MLB because of a lack of confidence, not after several years.

        Reply
        • 28rings

          1 year ago

          not just confidence in the player themselves but more importantly (in terms of trade value) confidence in other teams in them

          Reply
    • Yankee Clipper

      1 year ago

      With his jump to MLB and very brief time in AAA I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t hit. That’s quite an adjustment to make in a short period of time. But, perhaps he hits is Minors batting line and we are all happy too, which is my hope, of course.

      Let’s go Ben Rice!

      5
      Reply
    • Mad Hatter

      1 year ago

      I don’t believe teams were clamoring to trade for Ben Rice. Hindsight is always 20/20.

      2
      Reply
  2. Old York

    1 year ago

    10 Ks in 11 games? So, we should expect at least 1K in today’s game.

    Reply
  3. alumofuf

    1 year ago

    He can’t hit too much worse than Rizzo and he is most likely next year’s 1st baseman so it may take a year like Volpe for his bat to come around.

    I rather see a rookie than an old timer playing.

    8
    Reply
  4. Laseball Biker

    1 year ago

    Uncle Ben Rice

    5
    Reply
    • Joe says...

      1 year ago

      That’s Ben Original Rice

      7
      Reply
      • MetsSchmets

        1 year ago

        Not if this guy makes it for his nieces

        2
        Reply
      • Bart Harley Jarvis

        1 year ago

        Now the Yankees should trade for Kevin Pilaf.

        2
        Reply
        • Edp007

          1 year ago

          Coco crisp as batting coach ?

          4
          Reply
        • Bart Harley Jarvis

          1 year ago

          Nicely done, @Edp007.

          1
          Reply
      • tommyl

        1 year ago

        Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice when he loses control.

        1
        Reply
    • آلي مكبيل_.._.بيتزا بيبيروني آشتون كوتشر

      1 year ago

      I hope Aunt Jemima and the Quaker Oats guy gets called up too. Grimace threw out the first pitch for the Mets game the other day.

      Reply
      • letitbelowenstein

        1 year ago

        Human, Aunt Jemima was put out to pasture. She’s Pearl Milling now.

        2
        Reply
        • آلي مكبيل_.._.بيتزا بيبيروني آشتون كوتشر

          1 year ago

          Just like Mike Stanton is to Marie-Garofalo Stanton.

          Reply
      • Gomez Toth

        1 year ago

        And the Mets haven’t lost since. Next up: Betty Crocker.

        2
        Reply
    • mrmackey

      1 year ago

      Rice, Rice baby.

      5
      Reply
    • bjhaas1977

      1 year ago

      I can’t believe you were the first one to post this ! I thought it be nothing 90 second rice jokes.

      Reply
    • Monkey’s Uncle

      1 year ago

      Ben “Red Beans and” Rice?

      1
      Reply
  5. Doron

    1 year ago

    NICE!!!!
    GL Young Man!!!
    Go Git ‘EM!!!

    1
    Reply
  6. sergefunction

    1 year ago

    No Baseball Reference Ben Rice Player Info as of yet. Ivy League guy who can hit. Seems to have greatly exceeded his draft slot forecast.

    Not many first sackers for the Bronx Bombers come in with no BR bio, although in fairness fellow Ivy Leaguer Lou Gehrig didn’t get one until well after his rookie season.

    1
    Reply
  7. thegreatgoodbye

    1 year ago

    I’m actually impressed because old-school Yankees would’ve just traded for JD Davis who the A’s DFA yesterday.

    Reply
    • Dogleg62

      1 year ago

      They might still bring in Davis, if he clears waivers, as they don’t have much depth at the corner infield positions. Oswald Peraza is still rehabbing from his own injury and hasn’t proven that he can hit at the ML level yet.

      2
      Reply
  8. letitbelowenstein

    1 year ago

    First MLB player from Cohasset, Mass.

    2
    Reply
  9. LFGMets (Metsin7) #ConsistentlyBannedBaseballExpert

    1 year ago

    The Yankees should sign Cooper or Voit. Ben Rice is ok but unproven. I’d personally go with Voit

    Reply
  10. Bronx Bob

    1 year ago

    Shame we will never hear John Sterling say “Wild rice! Uncle Ben serves one up in an instant!”

    3
    Reply
    • dasit

      1 year ago

      “he’s phil risotto!”

      3
      Reply
    • sergefunction

      1 year ago

      Ahhh beat me to John Sterling and Uncle, as in “Oh Uncle, where have you Ben”….which is some weak, skanky predicting rice if I do admit so myself.

      1
      Reply
  11. Acoss1331

    1 year ago

    Rizzo wasn’t doing much with the bat, so even if he doesn’t blow everyone away, he’s already an improvement.

    Reply
  12. holecamels35

    1 year ago

    Is he better than Ben Dover?

    1
    Reply
    • Gomez Toth

      1 year ago

      Or his sister, Eileen Dover?

      Reply
  13. آلي مكبيل_.._.بيتزا بيبيروني آشتون كوتشر

    1 year ago

    Happy to see Rice get his first hit. Even more happy to see the very bouncy girl in the blue shirt celebrating his hit.

    Reply
  14. Dmac13

    1 year ago

    Was thinking the yankees may try to pick up mike ford again and hope he catches lightning in a bottle but I guess not

    Reply
  15. MLBTR needs to hire editors

    1 year ago

    “Some scouts have suggested that first base could be his long term home, anyway, although there appears to still be some optimism he could stick behind the plate.”

    Uh, what the hell? There should never be a comma before anyway. Deeds continues to be brutal with punctuation.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September

    Nationals Select Eli Willits With First Pick Of 2025 Amateur Draft

    2025 MLB Draft, First Round Results

    Red Sox Place Hunter Dobbins On 15-Day IL Due To ACL Tear

    Astros Promote Brice Matthews

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Recent

    Stuart Sternberg Has Agreed To Sell Rays To Patrick Zalupski, Deal Expected To Be Final By September

    Adolis Garcia Drawing Trade Interest

    Poll: Who Will Win The 2025 Home Run Derby?

    Royals Place Michael Lorenzen On Injured List

    Yankees Claim Rico Garcia

    Blue Jays, Joe Mantiply Agree To Minor League Deal

    Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast

    D-backs Have Listened To Offers On Outfield Depth

    Vinny Nittoli To Opt Out Of Brewers Deal

    The Opener: Home Run Derby, Draft Day 2, Rodriguez

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version