Ben Rice should continue Silver Slugger path in 2026 with one major change

Ben Rice of the New York Yankees was one of the American League's most surprising thumpers this season — and his expected statistics indicated he might've been one of the unluckiest, too. At the beginning of the season, relying on Rice instead of adding a proven commodity felt like a foolish half-measure for the Yankees. By the end? Paul Goldschmidt was a valuable platoon option, but Rice emerged as the real star at the position. He earned a Silver Slugger finalist nod as a result after being named in Thursday morning's reveal.

The winners will be announced on Nov. 7 at 6:00 PM ET exclusively to FanSided and the Baseball Insiders, and Rice's name will appear ... in the utility category, grouped with Zach McKinstry of Detroit and Yankees enemy Maikel Garcia of the Royals.

That's the section reserved for "players who have have played a minimum of 100 games with at least 20 games played at two or more positions" (designated hitter, for these purposes, does not count as a position). Rice's duty was split between catcher (29 games), first base (46 games), and DH (48 games during Giancarlo Stanton's injury recovery), qualifying him, but leaving him in major 2026 limbo.

Here's where the bold predictions come in: this will be Rice's final season as a utility nominee, or as someone who can be considered among the scrappy multi-position infielders of the world. Moving forward, the Yankees will have to decide whether he's a full-time first baseman (with a platoon safety net) or a full-time catcher (with Austin Wells heading out of town in a fair exchange).

It's an honor to be nominated, but Rice deserves more clarity on his future, rather than a half-hearted endorsement at multiple difficult positions.

Ben Rice's 2025 Silver Slugger nomination as a "utility" player should be his last in that category

The 131 OPS+ will play. The 98th percentile xwOBA should work. Now, it's incumbent upon Rice to work on his scoops, and for the Yankees to find him a righty-swinging partner who can take the load off (and, yes, maybe shift Rice behind the plate for a spell if he improves against southpaws).

This won't be the last time you hear from Rice. But it should be the last time he receives this type of caught-in-between consideration before the Yankees make a tough choice.