Aaron Boone's latest Ben rice update is semi-concerning for Yankees

First baseman Ben Rice is out of the lineup for the fourth consecutive day for the New York Yankees. 

Rice last played on Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles, going 2-for-2 with a home run before exiting in the fourth inning with a left-hand contusion on a pick-off throw from Max Fried

The left-handed slugger is considered day-to-day with the injury. 

Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided a semi-concerning update on Rice before Thursday's first pitch against the Texas Rangers. 

Boone told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that Rice "hasn't done a lot yet" while he works his way back to the field. 

"Boone said he still doesn't see this as an IL situation," Hoch wrote. 

Rice's hand is clearly bothering him more than the Yankees had hoped. Thus far, New York has gone 3-1 without him in the lineup. And Boone remains optimistic that this won't require a trip to the injured list. 

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Rice had been one of the hottest hitters on the planet before leaving Sunday's game. He is tied with Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros for fourth in the Majors with 12 home runs, three behind teammate Aaron Judge's 15. 

There's also a sizeable gap between Rice's MLB high 1.214 OPS and the next highest in MLB (Mickey Moniak -1.091). 

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