Yankees Rumors: Top young slugger already garnering offseason trade interest

As the New York Yankees enter the offseason transactional cycle, it’ll once again be customary for GM Brian Cashman to establish which of his players are untouchable. The most obvious name on that list is Aaron Judge, but there’s another, younger Yankees slugger whom Cashman would be wildly unwise to trade: Ben Rice. 

The 26-year-old’s breakout season in 2025 has not only endeared him to New York but made him one of the Yankees’ most valuable assets. Not surprisingly, many other teams are reportedly interested in prying Rice away from the Bronx.

The Yankees reportedly keep receiving trade calls about Ben Rice

According to The New York Post’s Jon Heyman, Rice has been the main menu item requested by teams calling the Yankees about potential trades. “Ben Rice has been about the most popular Yankee in trade talks,” Heyman wrote. “Teams regularly have been asking about him, but the Yankees are understandably extremely reluctant to deal him.”

Rice hit .255/.337/.499 in 2025 with 26 home runs and 65 RBI in 138 games. It’s not just his numbers that make him a delicious target for suitors — his demeanor is also valued. It takes an even-keeled, cool customer to step into the brutal New York sports market and exceed expectations, as Rice has done in pinstripes. 

The former 12th-round pick isn’t afraid of the big moment, either, as he displayed recently in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox. Kept out of the lineup by Aaron Boone in Game 1, Rice smashed the first pitch he saw in Game 2 into the right field bleachers at Yankee Stadium, immediately announcing himself and his lethal bat to the series. It can be argued that Rice’s homer was the first moment that shifted the Wild Card momentum in New York’s favor.

There’s more to Rice than his hitting talent. The Yankees very well might be considering making Rice their full-time catcher over Austin Wells in 2026 — something to monitor in the coming months. 

Rice’s positional versatility and high ceiling at the plate have teams drooling to steal him away from the Bronx, but Cashman shouldn’t even consider it, especially with Wells having regressed in 2025.

Overall, some of New York’s power bats are aging. Giancarlo Stanton turns 36 in November. Judge is still very much in his prime, but he will notably turn 34 in April of next season.

To establish sustained contention, the Yankees need to invest in proven guys in their mid- to late-20s like Rice and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (27). While the team with the most obvious championship window in the immediate present might not be New York, planning for 3-5 years ahead might be Cashman’s greatest chess move to ensure another World Series victory before Judge retires. Keeping Rice on board should be part of that plan, barring a deal that brings in a top starting pitcher in the sport.