Ben Rice posted a 133 wRC+ in his breakout 2025 season, a figure that quietly put him well above league average and firmly on the New York Yankees’ long-term radar at first base.
Twenty-six home runs. Seventy-four runs scored. Real production, not smoke and mirrors. The Yankees believe Rice is a piece, maybe even a fixture. They just do not want to leave him exposed.
Why the Yankees Are Still Thinking Platoon
The Yankees’ interest in a platoon at first base is not theoretical. They tested it last season, leaned into it, and watched it work. Paul Goldschmidt took the bulk of the starts against left-handed pitching and torched them to the tune of a 169 wRC+. That is not marginal value. That is game-altering.
Goldschmidt’s second-half fade complicates the memory, and his free agency likely ends the relationship. Even with a respectable postseason showing, the Yankees appear ready to move on. The lesson stuck, though. Rice can hit. Rice can slug. Rice can anchor the position. But the Yankees would rather give him air cover against tough lefties than let him grind through every matchup.
Amed Rosario’s Unexpected Path
That is where Amed Rosario enters the picture, not loudly, but purposefully. The Yankees re-signed Rosario to a one-year, $2.5 million deal after acquiring him from the Washington Nationals before the trade deadline. On paper, it looked like a simple move. Right-handed bat. Utility profile. Lefty-mashing potential.
Originally, Rosario was expected to complement Ryan McMahon in a third base timeshare. Aaron Boone, however, tipped the Yankees’ hand a bit by revealing they want Rosario to become familiar with first base as well. Not just as an emergency option, but as something they might actually use.
Learning the Cold Corner From Scratch
There is one glaring catch. Rosario has never played first base in a major league game. Not once. His defensive resume includes shortstop, second base, third base, and all three outfield spots. The cold corner is the lone blank space, in addition to catcher, of course.
That makes this less about past performance and more about projection. Rosario is 30, which means the Yankees are betting on instincts and athletic adaptability rather than raw upside. He will have the rest of the winter and all of spring training to learn the position, work the footwork, and get comfortable with the throws that define first base defense.
If he can be passable with the glove and dangerous against left-handed pitching, the fit becomes obvious.
How This Could Actually Work
The Yankees do not need Rosario to be a first baseman in the traditional sense. They need him to survive there a couple times a week while punishing southpaws. Rice, meanwhile, gets softer landings against right-handers and stays fresher across a long season.
This approach also preserves roster flexibility. Rosario can still bounce around the diamond, cover the outfield in a pinch, and give Boone matchup options late in games. For a team that values versatility as much as the Yankees do, that matters.
The question is not whether Rosario can replace Goldschmidt’s production against lefties. That is unrealistic. The question is whether he can give the Yankees enough competence at first base to justify the platoon without weakening the defense.
If the answer is yes, the Yankees might have quietly solved a roster puzzle without spending real money. If not, they will keep looking.
Either way, it says something about how much they believe in Ben Rice, and how carefully they want to protect him.
More about: New York Yankees
