Yankees’ Hits Leader Responds To Role Change Before Angels Loss

Q: What is the current hitting performance of the New York Yankees?

The New York Yankees are currently among the bottom five teams in Major League Baseball for total hits and batting average.

Q: Which key players are struggling with their performance for the Yankees?

Key players struggling include Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells, and Ryan McMahon.

Q: How did the Yankees start their season before the recent struggles?

The Yankees opened the season with a 13-run series sweep of the San Francisco Giants.

Q: What has changed for the Yankees' offense compared to last season?

The Yankees, who had one of the best offenses last year, are now experiencing significant struggles this season.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 09: Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees looks on during the game against the Athletics at Yankee Stadium on April 09, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images)

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Though the New York Yankees opened the season with a 13-run series sweep of the San Francisco Giants, the team’s offense has faltered since.

The Yankees are a bottom-five team in all of Major League Baseball in total hits and batting average. Several key players, including Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells and Ryan McMahon, are off to slow starts. Surprisingly, one of the best offenses in the sport last year is now mired in some struggles.

“Even after Monday night’s offensive awakening, an 11-10 series-opening win over the (Los Angeles) Angels, the Yankees were sitting on a .214 team batting average that ranked 27th best among 30 MLB teams with two starters hitting in the .230s and five in the .100s,” Randy Miller wrote for NJ.com.

New York Yankees Remove Hits Leader Ben Rice From Starting Lineup Before Loss

However, there has been one particularly bright spot for the Yankees’ offense as homegrown infielder Ben Rice is slashing .362/.508/.745 with an MLB-leading 1.253 OPS.

That’s why it turned some heads when the Yankees announced that Rice was removed from the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Angels.

Defending the decision, manager Aaron Boone indicated that he was looking for an opportunity to get 38-year-old Paul Goldschmidt at-bats instead and that he would look to get Rice into the game off of the bench.

“Boone said that he initially planned on starting Rice on Tuesday, but he likes the way he’s been able to use the left-handed swinger aggressively off the bench so far this season,” Gary Phillips wrote for the New York Daily News. “It’s because Rice’s hard-hitting bat is so valuable that fans take issue whenever he’s out of the lineup. But with Boone showing an eagerness to use his bench early and often in the early going this season, Rice has played in games he hasn’t started.”

New York Yankees’ Ben Rice Responds To Pinch-Hitting Role

With the Yankees’ offense struggling and Rice leading the team in several offensive categories, it seems like Boone could be forced to find an everyday spot for the young slugger in the near future. The Yankees lost Tuesday’s game 7-1, with Goldschmidt going hitless and Rice recording the sole RBI in a pinch-hitting appearance.

But Rice has been aware that he could be moved into a pinch-hitting role at any point this season. He explained why he feels confident about his chances to have a positive impact, even when the Yankees move him out of the starting lineup.

“When they’re putting you in to pinch-hit, they’re putting you into a matchup that they believe you can have success in,” Rice said, according to Phillips. “That gives you confidence to go out there and try to perform.”

This article was originally published on Forbes.com