The New York Yankees have made some intriguing decisions on slugger Ben Rice as of late.
New York has been struggling as of late, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone sat Rice on Monday and Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels. Although Rice is one of the top hitters for New York, Boone has sat him in favor of other matchups. Which many Yankees fans weren’t fond of.
However, despite being sat for matchups, Boone makes it clear that Rice is not a platoon player.
“Hell no,” Aaron Boone said to The Athletic if Rice is a platoon player.
When a left-hander is on the mound, Rice is often not in the lineup, but does come into the game later as a pinch hitter. By not starting Rice, Boone said he likes the idea of getting the chance to utilize him later in a matchup he prefers.
“I’ve just been able to use him so much in these games, and I cherry-pick the at-bat and aggressively insert him,” Boone said. “Also, in the early season, it keeps (Paul Goldschmidt) in play, who is so good against lefties. The last two times I sat Rice against the lefties, he comes in and hits a homer (in Tampa), and (Monday) he gets three at-bats. I’m picking the at-bat, as opposed to them bringing in a (reliever) to face him. He’s going to play.”
Rice is hitting .333 with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs this season with the Yankees.
Rice Wants to Play Against Lefties
Although the Yankees have been sitting Rice against left-handers, he does want the chance to play against them soon.
Rice believes he can make an impact against left-handers. But he knows the Yankees have a stellar lineup against lefties, which makes it tough for him to be in the lineup.
“I think last year, I was overall a productive hitter versus (lefties),” Rice said. “The only way to continue to get better is to see them. I’m still going to get reps against them. I’m still going to face lefty relievers, at least like I have been, and start against certain guys. The reality is, we’ve got one of the best hitters against left-handed pitching in baseball.”
Yet, Rice said he will continue to practice and get better against lefties and wait for his chance to prove he can play every day, regardless of the pitcher.
“We know that there’s potential there of continuing to get better,” Rice said. “But for now, I’m just going to be ready in whatever role that I’m penciled in for, whether that’s pinch hitting or starting.”
Yankees Walk-Off Angels
New York rallied for a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday.
Jose Caballero hit a two-run double off Jordan Romano in the bottom of the ninth to give the Yankees a big win.
“It’s a grind for us right now,” Boone said postgame. “But I felt like there were a lot of tough, winning things that happened tonight for us.”
With the win, the Yankees improved to 10-8 on the season.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Yankees Manager Makes Clear Decision on Ben Rice Despite Recent Benching appeared first on Heavy Sports.