In the era of player versatility, the Yankees have often made the wrong move by thinking their versatility was the right move, instead of making 1-to-1 swaps when players get hurt. This year has been the opposite, and they’re once again making the right move by promoting Ben Rice to replace Anthony Rizzo.
And there are two reasons why: the now and the later.
For now, well, the Yankees are doing exactly what they did when DJ LeMahieu missed the start of the season, and what they did when Juan Soto was shut down for a weekend: plugging one hole with one alternate peg, instead of moving several around the board.
Sure, DJ LeMahieu could handle first base, and Oswaldo Cabrera could go back to being the everyday third baseman, and Oswald Peraza or Jorbit Vivas or even Kevin Smith could come up and mostly sit the bench and spell the infielders otherwise…but then who is your backup first baseman, Cabrera? And are you comfortable with a Cabrera-Torres-Volpe-whoever infield once or twice a week because LeMahieu needs a day off more often these days? If Jon Berti were healthy, this might be more of a moot point, but he’s not, so it isn’t, and as good as DJLM is defensively at first base, anyone is (usually) a downgrade from Rizzo, so why downgrade two positions at times?
So, just as they did in using Cabrera at third in April, and letting Trent Grisham be an everyday player instead of trying to shoehorn Cabrera or Jahmai Jones into the outfield when Soto sat, the Yankees are calling up Rice – who, by the way, slashed .295/.392/.582 with 28 home runs, 74 RBI, 15 steals, and 22 doubles in 97 games/440 plate appearances at the Double-A level (considered the hardest jump besides minors to MLB) before being promoted to Scranton…and going 14-for-42 with three homers.
All he’s done is hit, and while his D is a work in progress considering he’s a natural catcher, so is Austin Wells’ behind the plate and his bat plays.
That brings us to why the later is important: who is the Yankees’ first baseman of the future? Sure, that’s not a position too many look at as important, per se, but Rizzo turns 35 in August, is in his last guaranteed year, and is hitting .223 with 8 homers and slipping defense this season after coming in healthy post-concussion (supposedly) – so even if the Yankees pick up his $17 million option, it’s 2025 and likely out.
The Yankees like T.J. Rumfield, who is also hitting at Triple-A, but assuming Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins stay in the NL Central and don’t opt out, the free agent class is Pete Alonso and then either very aging veterans or younger journeymen.
So, why not take a look at Rice, whose positional versatility could also make him a Rule 5 target (as rare as hitters are nowadays) and also helps the Yankees now, and maybe Rumfield later? If either or both don’t fare well, there will be a couple of those vets on the market at the deadline (how is Josh Bell still a Marlin?) if Rizzo isn’t ready or has a setback, so it’s a short-term look at a longer-term problem.
We won’t know the roster moves until tonight, and given the Yankees will need to make a 40-man move to add both Rice and the returning Gerrit Cole, they could still do something like DFA Jones, call up Peraza, and add Rice as the reciprocal for Rizzo, allowing them extra flexibility.
The important part is the Yankees are prioritizing the current offense while also seeing what they have for the future, and continuing to embrace their flexibility in better ways.
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