Yankees' Ben Rice just got sentenced to a brutal Silver Slugger fate

Getting Ben Rice the defensive reps he needs to make him a viable first baseman will be one of the Yankees' primary tasks of the offseason (if they know what's good for them). A more permanent conversion should help the Yankees set the lineup more comfortably. It should also set Rice up for more success in postseason awards races.

Rice's remarkable season — 41 homers, 97 RBI, and the inexplicable postseason lead in total home runs, even though the Yankees were eliminated in the ALDS — should've netted him more serious MVP conversation. After all, the leader in the clubhouse, Yordan Álvarez, is a primary DH for the Houston Astros. Shouldn't a DH-type who carried an Aaron Judge-less Yankees team further than Álvarez get more love?

Regardless of what should be, what is is that Álvarez was the undeniable offensive force who owned the narrative in 2026. And while Rice won't get a shot among the MVP finalists, he will get a head-to-head shot at Álvarez, because the two men are DH finalists for the 2026 Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger award, presented by FanSided. That's a big yikes.

Yankees' Ben Rice would've had a better shot among first base Silver Slugger nominees

The only two finalists at the first base position in the American League also reside in the AL East — Pete Alonso of the Baltimore Orioles and Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox. Both were significant needle-movers, and Alonso's league-leading counting numbers — 43 homers, 113 RBI — were both pretty undeniable. But it's clear Rice would've had a better shot at making inroads if he wasn't butting up against the second coming of David Ortiz.

Why does anyone pitch to Álvarez, even in a loaded Astros lineup? Who knows? He still managed to light up the league like a series of Christmas trees, hitting .316 with 42 bombs, a 190 OPS+, and 6.8 bWAR. Racking up that much bWAR without a defensive footprint should get you sent to a higher league; Rice clocked in at 3.7, despite having what any Yankee fan could tell you was an astoundingly impactful season.

Could Rice pull off the upset? Sure. Anything is possible. Maybe MLB's coaches and managers were as charmed by Ben Arroz as the rest of us, and want to separate the MVP conversation from the Silver Slugger race. It sure seems like Rice is walking into a bloodbath right on the verge of becoming a made man like Joe Pesci, though. The BadFella's likely gonna win.

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