The New York Yankees know Ben Rice has been an integral part of their lineup throughout the entire season.
However, things will be complicated to get him into the lineup when the postseason begins. While most would think it wouldn’t be a hard decision and Aaron Boone should simply play his best players, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic breaks down why it isn’t so simple.
“They’ll also have to decide the best ways to get Rice in the lineup every game,” wrote Kuty. “He hasn’t caught a single Max Fried start this year, and Fried will be starting Game 1. If the Yankees were to face the Boston Red Sox in the wild card, they might need to keep Rice on the bench until the Sox bring in a righty to relieve ace Garrett Crochet.”
This certainly complicates things for the Yankees for a few reasons. First and foremost, Rice has been a strong hitter in their lineup. Through Monday, Rice is posting a slash line of .252/.335/.488 for the Bronx Bombers with 24 home runs, 62 RBI and a 127 OPS+. To not have his bat for even five innings would be putting the team at a great disservice.
While Austin Wells has hit 21 home runs himself this season, he’s still a major downgrade offensively compared to Rice. Wells’ OPS is 114 points lower than Rice. The former may be better suited defensively, especially with Fried pitching, but the Yankees need offense to get the better of Crochet.
Boone and the Yankees certainly have a tough decision to make. Is it worth using Wells for his defensive abilities and familiarity with Fried, or should New York deploy an offense-first lineup?
They still have a little bit of time to make that decision, but the Bronx Bombers can’t dwell on it for too long.
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