Ben Rice might not be the answer to Yankees prayers after all

The New York Yankees are 6-16 in their last 22 games and 3.0 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East standings. After a torrid first few months of the campaign, when it felt like New York could have two MVP candidates and a clear path to the World Series, the fanbase is reeling. The last few weeks have felt an awful lot like last season, when very little went right for the Yankees and several presumed stars struggled.

It's probably too soon to panic — the Yankees are still positioned comfortably in the Wild Card hunt and well within striking distance of first-place Baltimore — but leave it to New York fans to react strongly at the first hint of adversity. The Yankees are always burdened with high expectations, especially when Aaron Judge is bashing a home run every other game.

The July 30 MLB trade deadline is a prime opportunity for the Yankees to improve the roster. The question is, what exactly does New York need to improve? Aside from Judge and his outfield co-star Juan Soto, not much feels particularly stable with this Yankees team. The entire infield has struggled at the plate, the bullpen is a mess, and the starting pitching tends to fluctuate.

Are the Yankees a great team in the middle of a slump, or is New York an average team coming back down to earth? That is a question Brian Cashman and the front office need to answer, and fast.

If there has been a bright spot in recent days, it is upstart first baseman Ben Rice. Stepping in for the injured Anthony Rizzo, the 25-year-old is slashing .273/.359/.546 with 15 hits, four home runs, and 12 RBI in 18 appearances (14 starts). That includes a monster three-home run, seven-RBI effort against the Boston Red Sox last week.

Maybe the Yankees don't need to upgrade their first base bat after all. That is the thinking in some circles, at least. That said, Levi Weaver of The Athletic is cautioning against full-stop faith in the scorching hot rookie.

Ben Rice isn't the Yankees' first base savior despite red-hot start

Rice is a dominant force against right-handed pitchers — at least, he has been to date — but his struggles against southpaws could lead New York to search for alternatives at the deadline. Rizzo was underwhelming before the injury, so fans aren't keen to get him back. The Yankees can instead look for a solid right-handed hitter to operate in a platoon with Rice.

Weaver explains the concerns and how the Yankees' strategy might unfold.

"One position to watch is first base. As Brendan Kuty wrote this week, Ben Rice has been a very serviceable replacement with Anthony Rizzo on the injured list … as long as the Yankees aren’t facing a left-handed pitcher. (Rice is hitting just .133 with a .369 OPS in 17 plate appearances against lefties.) They could also upgrade at second base, or perhaps third base, shifting DJ LeMahieu into a platoon with Torres at second."

Frankly, that is a loaded paragraph. In addition to tempering expectations for Rice (always a wise strategy with rookies who explode out of nowhere), Weaver paints a damning portrait of the Yankees' infield. Aside from Anthony Volpe at shortstop, there's room for drastic improvement across the board. New York should be interested in just about every available infielder with a potent bat and a half-decent glove.

Gleyber Torres requires a demotion at second base, while DJ LeMahieu has been largely terrible when healthy. Rice may not be the Yankees' savior at first base, but he is essentially their best infielder right now — at least when it comes to offensive production. It's only 18 games, so he's due for a step back eventually, but Rice needs to factor into New York's plans moving forward. It's just a matter of figuring out the extent to which he factors into said plans.