Yankees make Ben Rice decision amid logjam with Giancarlo Stanton, Paul Goldschmidt

Ben Rice has become an important piece of the New York Yankees. But he's also caught up in a positional logjam between first base and designated hitter.

After a blazing start that saw him post a .958 OPS through March and April, Rice has settled in with a .769 OPS/113 OPS+ after 64 games. He's a very useful hitter, but with Paul Goldschmidt putting up better numbers so far and Giancarlo Stanton returning from the injured list, he's going to struggle to find at-bats moving forward.

Some have proposed that Rice should get more playing time at catcher. Manager Aaron Boone has floated the idea of getting him an occasional game there, but he still doesn't yet have a start at the position in his major league career.

Others have even suggested that Rice should learn third base, which would enable Jazz Chisholm Jr. to move back to second base and perhaps give the Yankees their best possible offensive lineup.

However, insider Andy Martino of SNY reported in a recent mailbag column that the Yankees do not intend to teach Rice third base, and his playing time at catcher will be limited to third-string duties.

"Ben Rice won’t play third base for the Yankees. Aaron Boone has a plan for Rice that involves days at first base, days at DH, days on the bench here and there, and the occasional day at catcher (though not as the second catcher; that’s J.C. Escarra’s job and it is not in jeopardy)," Martino wrote.

Follow The Sporting News On WhatsApp

"The Yankees do not plan to introduce Rice to any additional positions."

"Here and there" is a very loose term, because Escarra already plays very sparingly. He's got 73 plate appearances, almost exactly one per every game the Yankees have played. Austin Wells is firmly entrenched as the starting backstop.

Rice will get at least a solid portion of the at-bats at first base against right-handed pitching. Stanton will also get some days off here and there to try and preserve his health. But the 26-year-old is probably only going to go back to the near-full-time at-bats he was getting if someone gets hurt.

It's a tough situation for a young hitter who has done all the right things since arriving in the big leagues, but that's the way the cookie crumbles at the major league level.

More MLB: Braves-Tigers trade pitch sees Atlanta cut ties with $81 million All-Star