Yankees Call Up Ben Rice to MLB After Anthony Rizzo Injury; NYY's No. 12 Prospect

The New York Yankees are calling up first base prospect Ben Rice to replace Anthony Rizzo, who will miss at least the next month with an arm fracture.

Rice is the No. 12 prospect in the Yankees' farm system and is off to a red-hot start to 2024 in the minors. He hit .275/.393/.532 with 15 home runs and 36 runs batted in while splitting his time between Double-A and Triple-A.

Rizzo suffered an arm fracture after colliding with Red Sox reliever Brennan Bernardino while trying to beat out a ground ball in Sunday's 9-3 loss in Boston.

"You never like seeing someone coming out of a game and getting injured," Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge told reporters. "Once we get an idea of what's going on with him, he's right back out there doing his thing. Past couple of games, past week or so, guy's been swinging the bat well, coming up with some big hits. Had the homer versus Kansas City earlier. We're going to miss him, but I think the first thing is health."

Rizzo is expected to miss four to six weeks. The 34-year-old is in the midst of arguably his worst professional season, hitting .223/.289/.341 with eight home runs and 28 runs batted in. The Yankees have a $17 million club option on Rizzo's contract for next season that they're unlikely to exercise.

DJ LeMahieu is likely to get the first shot at taking over the first base job, with Oswaldo Cabrera filling in at third.

Rice is more likely to be used off the bench as a pinch-hitter and could fill in at first when LeMahieu needs a day off or has to shift to third in place of Cabrera. A 12th-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Rice has quickly ascended the ranks in the minors thanks to his pop as a hitter and solid eye at the plate.

While he's not considered elite in any one category, he's shown enough maturity as a hitter to get a long look in the majors.