There’s a familiar tension in the Bronx — not the kind that comes with losing streaks or bad trades, but the kind that bubbles up when everything’s going too well. The Yankees are winning, the bats are hot, and yet fans can’t help but worry. The return of Giancarlo Stanton after recovering from an arm injury looms, and with it, a lineup dilemma that’s quickly turning into a full-blown roster headache.

Every day, manager Aaron Boone is forced to sit a player who deserves to start. The Yankees are flush with outfielders and sluggers: Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger, Jasson Domínguez, all of them in good form. Then there’s Aaron Judge, whose bat isn’t going anywhere. Add Stanton’s return to that mix, and it becomes nearly impossible to keep Ben Rice in the lineup — on paper, at least. Who needs to be moved around to make space for Stanton? Rice is the obvious option, but not everyone agrees.

While talking to Ryan Sampson on the Pinstripe Post podcast, Joel Sherman took Yankee fans by surprise. “When people say, what is Ben Rice going to do if and when Stanton comes back?” he went on to answer, “The answer is: he’s going to play, and play a lot.”And surely that has been the reality. “Nobody hits in the major leagues and doesn’t play.” This pretty unpopular take demands a reality check.

Sure enough, Rice isn’t just surviving in this stacked roster; he’s thriving. His fifth-inning grand slam against the A’s at Sutter Health Park was a key moment in a 12–2 blowout. That kind of performance is tough to ignore. He has nine homers, a .937 OPS, and 1.3 bWAR over 144 plate appearances. He has already surpassed his 2024 home run total in nearly half the playing time, often drawing comparisons to Juan Soto.

And what about Stanton? He didn’t see a single pitch in the outfield last year, and he’s only played the field in 97 of 350 games since 2021. That gives the Yankees more reason to make Stanton a permanent DH, at least in theory. And even though there is no official confirmation, the five-time All-Star playing outfield this season is out of the equation. And we end up looking back at Ben Rice. So, what are the possibilities?

Ben Rice might be the future of the Yankees’ lineup

This headache doesn’t come without its complications. If the Yankees use one of their outfielders at DH to make space, they lose Rice’s bat—unless he plays first, which would bump Goldschmidt. Could Rice learn third base to create flexibility? Boone says no — “not yet,” at least.

A lot needs to happen before the Yankees are even in this so-called ‘problem’ scenario. Stanton actually has to return. Paul Goldschmidt has to stay healthy. Rice, who’s already shown versatility at first and behind the plate, has to keep hitting. Rice looks very real, and today’s MLB real hitters don’t sit on the bench.

That narrows the options. Unless someone lands on the IL, someone with a hot bat will sit. And that’s where the unpopular verdict comes in: Stanton may return, but Ben Rice isn’t going anywhere. And if this version of Ben Rice is the real deal, then the Yankees might just be staring at the future of their lineup, no matter who else comes knocking.