The case for the Yankees trading Ben Rice at the deadline
The New York Yankees are predicted to make bold moves ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. One particularly daring move they could make is trading away breakout slugger Ben Rice.
The 26-year-old first baseman is having a breakout year, slashing .235/.326/.466 with 14 home runs in just 264 at-bats. He’s crushed the ball all year, posting an average 93.2 mph exit velocity and producing a barrel in 10.6% of his plate appearances.
Numbers like that and a remaining half-decade of team control makes him an incredibly valuable trade piece. And with first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and DH Giancarlo Stanton relegating Rice to part-time play, the Yankees could maximize his current value by trading him.
Offering Rice in trade proposals could enable the Yankees to upgrade without offloading top prospects like George Lombard Jr., Spencer Jones and Cam Schlittler. For example, a package of Rice and a few second-tier prospects could land Arizona Diamondbacks’ third baseman Eugenio Suarez (.250/.320/.569) and starting pitcher Merrill Kelly (127 ERA+).
Moving Rice would also free up the Yankees to pursue projected Japanese league posting Munetaka Murakami in the offseason. The 25-year-old first baseman has hit .270/.395/.549 with 224 homers in eight NPB seasons. Signing him makes sense for the business-minded Yankees, because as good as Ben Rice might turn out to be, he won’t move product in Japan.
Trading a budding star who won’t be a free agent until 2031 is risky, though. Murakama may delay his posting or follow many his fellow NPB superstars to a west coast organization. He could even turn out to be a super-expensive bust.
But if the Yankees are going to win big now, they’re going to have to take big risks. And given a choice between losing a potential All-Star in Rice and celebrating a championship in 2025, most Yankees fans wouldn’t hesitate to take the latter option.
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