Bold opening: The Yankees face a rough start to spring training with key players sidelined, and Ben Rice’s neck issue adds another wrinkle to the early season plans.
The New York Yankees will begin the season without Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Anthony Volpe due to injuries. Cam Schlitter is dealing with a non-serious back problem. In addition, catcher Ben Rice is working through a neck issue.
This particular injury did not originate from a baseball drill or activity. Rice explained to reporters that he simply slept in an awkward position and woke up with neck discomfort, a problem many people experience from time to time, according to his comment reported by Greg Joyce of the New York Post.
Doctors consider the neck strain minor, and it isn’t expected to affect Rice in the long term during spring training. He has not yet tested the batting cages but did participate in catching Rodon’s bullpen session on Saturday. For the upcoming season, Rice is expected to function as a secondary catcher behind Austin Wells, while primarily serving as the first baseman. This arrangement remains in place even after the Yankees re-signed Paul Goldschmidt.
On the field, Rice enjoyed a breakout season previously, delivering an .836 OPS with 26 home runs and 65 RBIs over 138 games.
For more details on Ben Rice and the Yankees, you can visit AMNY.com.
