Yankees Infielder Reignites Ben Rice Third Base Rumors

May 6, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) hits a two run double in the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

First baseman Ben Rice might be moving to third base after all, at least according to speculation from New York Yankees infielder J. C. Escarra.

Rice has been filling as a designated hitter for the Yankees this season, as legendary slugger Giancarlo Stanton has spent all of 2025 on the Injured List and doesn't appear to be coming back anytime soon. If he does recover within the year, the New York Yankees will have some difficult choices to make.

Rice's performance at the plate has been stellar; the 26-year-old has been hitting .250 with nine home runs in 41 games, making it unlikely for the team to boot him from the lineup if and when Stanton recovers from his injuries. If he's going to stick around, he'll need a position on the field, and it's making more and more sense to move the young upstart to third base.

In a recent interview, Escarra winked at Rice's ability to fill Cabrera's shoes.

"He has the hands, and he definitely has the arm strength to play there," Escarra told Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. "So you never know."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone has denied that the team is considering moving Rice, but he last spoke directly on the matter before May 12, when third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera suffered a gnarly ankle injury. Boone has since said that Cabrera's return before the end of the season is "unlikely".

“I would say probably unlikely [he returns this season], but we probably won’t know until a week, 10 days in to where we get the doctors’ protocols and then the ramp up as you go," he told The Post. "It was a little more involved in there, but all things considered, fairly successful, too.”

On May 19, Boone told The Post that Rice has been practicing at third base "for fun", and that the press should "not necessarily read anything into it."