00:00It's a drive by Derry Ducson, Charles Chisholm goes deep.
00:09This is part two of our series going kind of position by position, how the Yankees can
00:15and maybe should navigate the offseason.
00:19Today we're up to first base.
00:20I hope you already viewed and read about catcher.
00:24We're also doing this in the New York Post and online at nypost.com.
00:28And when it comes to first base, I think there's two questions that have to be asked.
00:34Number one, can Ben Rice get better at first base?
00:38And number two, is Luis Garcia Jr.'s best use for the Yankees moving forward as a first
00:45baseman and lefty bat in their lineup or as a trade chip to try to deal with something else?
00:50Let's deal with this first issue.
00:52Ben Rice has been kind of on the Kyle Schwarber trajectory.
00:56He starts as a catcher, just like Schwarber.
00:58I think it's kind of determined he's probably never going to be exceptional at that position.
01:03But the bat, like Schwarber's bat, is full of lefty power, lots of strikeouts, but also
01:09lots of walks, the ability to hit in the clutch, etc.
01:13If you go and look, Rice's year this year looks a lot like the 2021 season by Kyle Schwarber.
01:21And one of the reasons I bring up the 2021 season, Schwarber got traded to the Red Sox
01:27at the trade deadline that year, and the Red Sox wanted to play him at first base.
01:31And they did for about 10 games or so.
01:33It didn't go well.
01:34And I think that you would probably say the same thing about Kyle Schwarber and Ben Rice,
01:38which is it's never going to be about diligence in doing something.
01:42I think they'll put their heart and effort strongly into anything they think would help a team win.
01:48But your body type is your body type, it's your flexibility, it's your first step, it's
01:54your agility, etc.
01:56And Schwarber eventually has just evolved into a full-time DH.
02:01There was a lot of left field in there eventually.
02:03He was never very good at that.
02:04And he's obviously great, so valuable as that.
02:08I mean, he got a $150 million contract to hit last offseason.
02:12He had already gotten an $80 million contract from Philadelphia to hit.
02:15So if Ben Rice does nothing, and he actually stays on this track, he's an incredibly valuable
02:20player, like Schwarber, could he put a lot of work into this and not get good enough at
02:25first base?
02:27I think people throw away first base too easy.
02:30I think if you have a strong defensive first baseman, it really just improves things.
02:34It brings confidence to the infield, the scoops, the large target.
02:39You could throw it anywhere.
02:40It helps.
02:41The ability of a first baseman to throw is big.
02:43They handle the ball a lot.
02:45And we're in an age right now where there's more athleticism and speed and agility and
02:52it being used on the field.
02:54And you just, I think putting a weak fielder on the field, the ball is going to find them,
02:58especially in the biggest spots.
03:00That being said, I think Rice has to try this offseason.
03:04You know, take a couple of weeks off and then whatever effort you're putting into your swing,
03:08put into first base also, because it feeds into what that second question is about Garcia,
03:14which is the Yankees are, as they currently constituted, are going to have a lot of first
03:19base DH types and you don't want to lack flexibility there.
03:24They can solve some of this if they simply decide John Carlos Stanton's not coming back and they
03:33eat the 20 million he's owed in the final year of his contract, in which case Garcia is the main
03:39first baseman.
03:40He's a pretty good first baseman.
03:42Rice is the main DH.
03:45Rice, and they either re-sign a guy like Paul Goldschmidt, find another right hand hitting
03:51complement to play maybe some first base in other places.
03:57I'm not sure they're going to do that.
03:59And then the other thing becomes, I think, starting in 2027, but certainly moving forward,
04:05and it's again why if Rice can play first base, it would have value.
04:08I think Aaron Judge has to start DH-ing a game a week or two games a week just to
04:13preserve
04:13his body in his mid-30s as he's getting older into his later 30s.
04:19These were not traumatic injury moments where you're like, oh, that's obviously a guy who's
04:27gotten hurt.
04:28He's hurt himself doing what felt like pretty normal baseball activities this year, and I
04:35think you have to worry about, is he on some kind of Stanton timeline for injuries now at
04:40his size and the strength and force he does everything?
04:42And can you protect him from some of it by using the DH?
04:46So if Rice can play some first base, and I know the Yankees are going to ask Garcia to
04:50try to go back to playing some second base, even if it's for like 30 or 40 games, just
04:55to get both bats in the lineup.
04:56If Stanton's around, if Judge needs the DH, you have both of them.
05:00I, again, I'm just big about not giving stuff away on defense, especially in the biggest
05:06games.
05:08And Garcia at second and Rice at first, you're going to be below average, even if both guys
05:12are incredibly diligent and work at it and get a little better.
05:17And so that leads to the question, Garcia is coming up on his walk year.
05:22Uh, we're likely heading to a point where there's going to be tougher financial rules moving
05:28forward for top payrolls.
05:30Is that a salary cap?
05:32Is that tougher stuff like aprons in the NBA where, you know, you can't make a trade and
05:37take on money during a season, whatever.
05:38However, it's to the point where bigger teams already with a lot of money invested for the
05:44future, like the Yankees, I think it's going to be hard to sign Luis Garcia Jr. to a long
05:48term extension.
05:50Uh, so if the Yankees play next year and they just play out Garcia, uh, and, uh, have him
05:57paired with Rice, I think that's fine.
05:58The question is, can you use Garcia to go get something else in the marketplace?
06:03You need a third baseman, uh, a center fielder, late inning relief, uh, just for your knowledge,
06:11the team that finished runner up for, uh, Garcia at the trade deadline last year was Arizona.
06:17They had, they ended up this year with the worst production in first at first base in
06:22the sport.
06:23They currently do not have an obvious first baseman on their roster.
06:27They have lots of interesting, uh, power arms, uh, in their bullpen.
06:34Uh, can a trade be made where the Yankees get a controllable reliever they like, and maybe
06:40something else for Garcia?
06:41Just, I'm, I, I've heard nothing.
06:44I hope nobody aggregates that.
06:45I know that won't stop you, but like imagining just the whole roster, would it be better if
06:52Garcia was put to that use?
06:54Not because Garcia is a bad player, quite the opposite.
06:56I think he's a really good hitter.
06:58I think he's a very competent first baseman.
07:01It's just about how much longer do you have him?
07:04Uh, and how inflexible is that first base DH thing, especially if the Yankees don't get
07:09rid of Stanton.
07:10One thing to think about whatever they do is it would be good to have a right-handed bat
07:17that, uh, compliments it, especially if they do move Garcia.
07:22Uh, and that, that first baseman plays, plays the position well and hits lefties.
07:27By the way, I just, that was Paul Goldschmidt last year.
07:30Again, he had well over 900 OPS against lefties.
07:33He was still an asset defensively.
07:35He'd have to play at 39 next year.
07:37Do you want to do that again?
07:38To me, Ty France is kind of like Ryan O'Hearn, but just from the right side, he kind of
07:44has
07:44had his best year at age 30, 31 going into free agency like O'Hearn.
07:48That was about a two year, $36 million, $34, $36 million contract with Pittsburgh.
07:55I would think France is in the same area.
07:58I'm thinking the Yankees probably don't want to spend that kind of money for a first baseman,
08:03though France is an exceptional defender.
08:05So do they like find like a smaller guy?
08:08I'll throw out a name, uh, again, haven't heard anything, but if you're looking for maybe
08:14what is a version of Ahmad Rosario, but that can defend, especially at first base, but play
08:20a lot of other positions and at least in 2026 hit lefties really well.
08:25It's interesting.
08:26It was a guy from the Diamondbacks.
08:28He just didn't play a ton of, you know, first base, but when he played it, he played it well.
08:32And that was Ildemar Vargas, uh, who is a free agent, uh, you know, and is probably a
08:38guy who will sign a low number one year deal, maybe a one and an option.
08:43Uh, and he's the kind of guy who gives you flexibility again, like Rosario plays everywhere,
08:47but plays a little bit better defensively.
08:49Uh, maybe runs into the ball a little bit, hits left handers.
08:54Do they go that way?
08:55But I think the two key issues they're going to have to deal with is how much can they trust
09:00Ben Rice at first base?
09:01Can he get better at the position where they could trust him to play even a third of the
09:06games at first base, 50 games?
09:08He did that this year, but almost all of them were before Garcia showed up.
09:12Can they do it?
09:12Cause they they're comfortable with him doing it.
09:14Cause he's climbed close to major league average and it allows them judge at DH or stand at
09:18DH or Garcia at DH.
09:20And what is the best use of Luis Garcia for them long-term?
09:24Is it playing another 162 games at a post-season?
09:27That would be fine.
09:28He's a good player.
09:29Or is it turning it into something else that would help the overall flexibility of the
09:34roster and the potential overall talent of the roster?
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