Could Ben Rice Be Moving Positions?

Look, let’s start with the obvious: Ben Rice is crushing it. The kid’s been everything you’d want in a midseason surprise—a burst of power, steady presence at the plate, and most importantly, someone who took Giancarlo Stanton’s empty DH seat and didn’t just keep it warm, he turned it into a throne.

Through 41 games, Rice has launched nine home runs and is batting .250—not exactly Mickey Mantle reincarnate, but considering he was a depth option a few months ago, the numbers scream one thing: “Keep this guy in the lineup.”

And that’s exactly what the Yankees are trying to figure out. Because one day (allegedly) Stanton will rise from the Injured List like a $300 million phoenix, and someone’s got to step aside. But who? The Yankees’ offense is humming. Messing with the chemistry now would be like unplugging the toaster while it’s still mid-bagel.

So now there’s chatter—maybe Rice moves to third base? J.C. Escarra, infielder and now apparently part-time rumor mill, hinted that Rice has “the hands” and “the arm strength” to man the hot corner. He told Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News:

“He has the hands, and he definitely has the arm strength to play there. So, you never know.”

Well, we do know this: Ben Rice has never played third base in a big-league game. That’s kind of important. Boone, always the king of cryptic coach-speak, said back on May 19th that Rice had been taking reps at third “for fun,” and warned the press to “not necessarily read anything into it.”

(Translation: Please stop asking about it before we even know what we’re doing.)

Now here’s where things get a little spicy. Because if the goal is to keep Rice’s bat in the lineup—and it absolutely should be—why experiment with moving him to a brand-new position when you already have a gold-glove caliber glove rotting on the bench?

Yes, we’re talking about Oswald Peraza. The Yankees treat Peraza like a USB cable in a drawer full of lightning cords—undeniably useful, but somehow always overlooked. He doesn’t get consistent at-bats, and then gets criticized for not hitting enough. Well, no kidding. The guy gets one shot every 10 days and is expected to produce like Aaron Judge.

And yet—when he does get the chance, he delivers. Case in point: that rocket double against the Rockies that sparked a Bronx-style beatdown.

That’s not nothing. That’s baseball.

So, if we’re drawing up the lineup card—and let’s be honest, we’re all better at it than Aaron Boone after a large, iced coffee and three confusing analytics reports—it goes like this:

• Volpe stays at short. We get it. It’s written in stone. He’s Boone’s boy toy.

• Peraza starts at third base and gets regular ABs so he can, you know, actually develop.

• Ben Rice keeps doing what he does best: mash as the DH.

• And Stanton? He can take his sweet time. No one’s rushing him back until his legs are ready to do more than just jog out of the tunnel.

As for J.C. Escarra, hey—we love the enthusiasm. But maybe chalk this one up to rookie chatter. Saying Rice “might” play third is like saying Judge “might” try catching. It’s not technically wrong, but let’s maybe let the coaching staff handle position changes. Boone already gives us enough to scratch our heads over.

In the meantime, let’s not overthink this. The Yankees are winning, the offense is clicking, and Ben Rice is turning heads every time he steps to the plate. Be grateful, be happy, and for the love of the pinstripes—don’t fix what isn’t broken.