An early look at Ben Rice’s defense at first base

Mar 31, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) fields a ground ball against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images | John Froschauer-Imagn Images Anyone who has been reading Pinstripe Alley for a while knows that I like to talk about arguably the most mundane defensive position on the diamond, that of the first baseman. Much like offensive linemen in the NFL, first basemen only draw attention to themselves when something goes wrong, either when they save an infielder from a throwing error with a nice play or when they cost their team an out by botching a throw.

Even then, we tend not to focus on individual plays, but only begin to focus on it when disaster repeatedly strikes — see, for example, the Jay Bruce experiment at the start of 2021 . Last season, Ben Rice’s play at the cold corner was…I wouldn’t exactly call it disastrous, but it was clear that he had only 99 innings of professional experience at the position heading into the season. I’m not generally a fan of how defensive metrics treat first base — they tend to rate range too highly, which is important, but not that important for first basemen — but Defensive Runs Saved considered him below average, with a score of -2 in 370 innings (for their part, Statcast had him worth a perfectly even 0 Outs Above Average.

). Those numbers track the eye test. At times, he looked good, such as when he made this diving stop last May.

View Link And other times, he looked very much like a catcher the Yankees handed a first baseman’s mitt and told, “Go out there, kid. ” View Link View Link Much like spring training, the first week of the season is a time of over-analysis and over-reaction, and this year, Rice’s defense has been one of the bigger stories. The 27-year-old reported to Tampa in January, before the official report dates, making time for extra reps in between work in the batting cage and as a bullpen catcher , and seeking advice from Paul Goldschmidt .