Yankees 2025 Roster Report Cards: Ben Rice

I’m not saying that Ben Rice is Aaron Judge reborn, I’m just saying that a year ago Ben Rice looked overwhelmed by MLB pitching, striking out far above his minor league production, and in his first full year with the big league club blossomed into one of the more promising hitters in the game. Rice didn’t have an MVP season, but if he hadn’t exceeded his rookie limits in 2024, the lefty would have given Nick Kurtz a run for his money for the AL Rookie of the Year award.

Grade: A

2025 Statistics: 138 games, .255/.337/.499, 26 HR, 65 RBI, 133 wRC+, -1 OAA, 3.0 fWAR

2026 Contract Status: Pre-arbitration

First base has been a bit of a nightmare for the Yankees for a while now, with Anthony Rizzo providing a brief respite before what turned out to be a career-ending concussion. Since the beginning of the Baby Bomber era, the team’s managed a 104 wRC+ from the spot, not what you want from a bat-first position. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Rice’s campaign this year was the most productive from the cold corner of anyone who got more than 300 plate appearances since 2017.

Of course Rice also saw some time behind the plate, helping keep that position somewhat at the waterline while Austin Wells took a step back. The defense at both first and catcher needs work — we saw in the postseason that sometimes Ben can have issues actually catching the baseball — but to even be holding your own at catcher with a 130 wRC+, while making the league minimum, makes you one of the more valuable players in the entire sport. Plus, he looks the part:

I feel like there’s a little more upside to Rice’s game. He cleaved his strikeout rate down to 20 percent, much better than league average. His walk rate also declined though, and despite his excellent batted ball data, could stand to take a few more free passes. Getting that OBP up to the .350 or so area combined with the power to the pull side is what makes a .900 OPS guy, at least when he plays half his games at Yankee Stadium.

Still, right now Rice is exactly the kind of hitter the Yankees have been looking for — he doesn’t need to hit in the second or third spot of your lineup, but he gives length and presents a danger even once you’ve worked past Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Filling out the lineup after the big guns has been the challenge for almost a decade now, and the fact the Yankees have an option that was fantastic in 2025, has room to grow in 2026, and is under team control through 2030 is a huge asset.

Plus, Ben just seems like a good person. His fluency in Spanish led to many moments this past year where he seemed to be an honorary member of the Latin Yankee pool, and even beyond that appears to be carving out a role for himself as a clubhouse guy, one of those players that keeps the entire team together regardless of results:

Of course the thing we’re all looking forward to the most in 2026 is just how much more Aaron Judge can do, but between Rice and Cam Schlittler, we were able to enjoy an injection of great young talent this past year with a very plausible case they take steps forward and become real stars next year. For a position the Yankees have a long and rich history of, Ben Rice could be next in the line of great first basemen.