It’s no secret the New York Yankees have been struggling collectively as a team at the plate.
One of the players currently in his biggest slump is Yankees slugger Ben Rice, who is batting around .211 over his last 60 games and is currently 0-for-his-last-11 at the plate.
With that, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has made a few lineup changes, ultimately trying to get Rice back on track ahead of the team’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.
Yankees Announce Decision on Rice
For the first time since June 29, the Yankees are slotting Ben Rice into the leadoff spot, where he found some success earlier this summer.
He’ll also finally get a chance to start in the field, as he will not serve as the designated hitter and will instead have the first base duties for New York, while Luis Garcia Jr. serves as the DH.
Rice was the Yankees’ everyday first baseman for a while, but after the team acquired Garcia Jr. and Heliot Ramos, Boone changed how he constructed the lineup. That led to Rice often serving as the DH, which works for some players, while others need the opportunity to play defense to help guide them into finding a rhythm at the plate.
Here’s the full Yankees lineup:
Yankees 8/16
B. Rice 1B
L. García Jr. DH
H. Ramos LF
T. Grisham CF
S. Jones RF
G. Lombard Jr. SS
R. McMahon 3B
A. Wells C
J. Caballero 2BR. Weathers SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 16, 2026
Rice’s 2026 Season
Rice is batting .251 on the season, though his average once sat around .270. He’s recorded 110 hits, 32 home runs and 78 RBIs while slugging .530 with a .875 OPS.
The bulk of his production came before the All-Star break, though, which has some concerned as the Yankees approach the most pivotal part of the season.
New York has several key players on the injured list, including Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton. All three are seemingly trending in the right direction and could make their returns at some point this season.
New York Yankees Announce Sudden Ben Rice Decision During Blue Jays Series