The New York Yankees went through the wringer this offseason. They lost superstar outfielder Juan Soto to the New York Mets but quickly responded with a plethora of moves of their own.
Now, injuries are destroying everything that New York’s front office built over the last few months.
The Bronx Bombers are fighting pitching injuries as badly as anybody. Gerrit Cole is out for the season after undergoing elbow surgery. Luis Gil suffered a strained lat and will miss a solid chunk of time. Clarke Schmidt recently began struggling with shoulder fatigue.
But designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is also suffering from an injury and it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to play this season.
Many baseball minds have pitched different Stanton replacements including reunions with Anthony Rizzo or Alex Verdugo. But the best (and easiest) replacement is right under the Yankees’ nose.
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The answer to this problem is more than likely going to be Ben Rice.
Rice, 26, recently clubbed his fifth home run in less than 50 spring training at-bats. The left-handed hitting first baseman has an OPS near 1.000 this spring.
He spent time with the Yankees last year but struggled. In over 150 at-bats, he hit just .171 with seven home runs. But keeping him on the roster, rotating him at first base, and utilizing him as a designated hitter makes a lot of sense.
Rice has the power to compete at the big league level. He struggled with a strikeout rate near 33 percent last year, but if he can get that down below 30 percent, the Yankees could use him as an everyday player.
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