Bullet point summary by AI
- Ben Rice is threatening Aaron Judge’s offensive dominance just weeks before Memorial Day.
- Austin Wells has seen his numbers drop significantly, raising questions about his future role and whether Rice could move back to catcher.
- Moving a key offensive contributor back to a more demanding position carries too much risk for immediate team success.
A New York Yankees season where Aaron Judge isn’t leading the team in OPS after Memorial Day just feels strange. That’s what happens when you turn on your remote and land on the Ben Rice show.
With June 1 only days away, Rice has a team-high .993 OPS, slightly ahead of Judge’s .949. It’s been another impressive campaign for Rice, who owns 16 home runs, 11 doubles, and 1.5 bWAR in over 200 plate appearances.
Rice has settled in comfortably as the Yankees’ first baseman and designated hitter, though he initially rose through the ranks while also catching. As tempted as the Yankees may inevitably become to move Rice back behind the plate, that is absolutely the worst thing they could do, especially amid their recent hot streak.
The Yankees cannot replace Austin Wells with Ben Rice
The time has unfortunately arrived for the Yankees to consider giving up on the Austin Wells experiment. Wells’ OPS has plummeted from .712 to .579, and he’s managed just seven RBIs in 149 plate appearances. That shouldn’t be possible, especially not when Wells hits in a loaded Yankees lineup.
If the Yankees reach a point where they want to upgrade at catcher, Rice isn’t the answer.
Naturally, the thought of naming Rice the starting catcher and potentially giving Paul Goldschmidt the starting first base job sounds tempting. There’s only one problem: Rice switching back to catcher, an incredibly physically taxing position, isn’t as simple as a corner outfielder moving into center field.
That’s not a knock against Rice, who has blossomed into a fan favorite and a reliable top-of-the-order hitter. With how important Rice is to the Yankees’ success, though, why run the risk of hurting his immediate contributions?
Although backup catcher J.C. Escarra had a three-hit game earlier this week, he still owns a measly .541 OPS in 55 plate appearances. He’s not exactly the fix that Yankees fans might be looking for.
To be clear, the conversation right now shouldn’t necessarily even be about who the Yankees could acquire ahead of the deadline. Even then, who would be available that could step in and be even a competent starting catcher?
And, no, a Gary Sánchez reunion should not be on the table, though it’s hard to envision the Brewers trading their backup catcher. To his credit, Aaron Boone isn’t forcing the idea of putting Rice behind the plate. In fact, Rice hasn’t even caught a game this year.
There is no indication that Boone and the Yankees plan to bench Wells or demote him to Triple-A. For now, the Yankees appear ready to keep running Wells out there, even if it means having a weak spot at catcher.
That’s far better than the alternative of destroying Rice’s momentum with what they’d believe would be a simple position change.
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