Yankees warned Luis Garcia plan risks Ben Rice's future

The New York Yankees enter the 2026-27 offseason with a roster that produced 71 home runs from two left-handed bats.

Ben Rice hit 41 of those.

Luis García Jr. hit the other 30.

Both players have a strong case for everyday playing time in 2027.

The difficulty is figuring out where to put them on the field.

Rice established himself as the Yankees' primary first baseman during a breakout season.

García, acquired from the Washington Nationals at the 2026 trade deadline, played first base after arriving in New York.

But his natural position for most of his major league career was second base.

The Yankees are now weighing a plan that would move García back to second base.

That would allow both Rice and García to start in the same infield.

It would also keep two productive left-handed bats in a lineup that sorely needed run production after Aaron Judge missed most of the season with an injury.

The idea sounds good on paper.

But baseball columnist Joel Sherman issued a direct warning about the defensive risks involved.

Sherman made his case on an episode of "The Show."

He argued that the Yankees should explore trading García rather than penciling him in at second base.

Sherman acknowledged that García's offense is real.

"I know the Yankees want the bats," Sherman said.

"But this idea that Luis Garcia Jr. is going to go play second base, like Washington knows him best, and to come off the second base, put him on first base, and suddenly his offense blossomed."

"If I were the Yankees, I would be trying very hard to trade Luis Garcia Jr., not because he's a bad player."

"I think it's quite the opposite."

"I think the offense is real."

"You have Ben Rice."

"I don't think they're just eating Stanton's money."

The warning centers on a fundamental question: can García handle the defensive demands of second base again?

García spent the majority of his time in Washington at second base before the Nationals moved him to first.

His offensive numbers improved after the position change.

In 2026, García finished the regular season batting .277 with 30 home runs, 92 RBIs and an .830 OPS.

Rice, meanwhile, hit .264 with 41 homers, 97 RBIs and an .897 OPS.

Combined, the two players accounted for 71 home runs and 189 RBIs.

Those numbers explain why the Yankees want both in the lineup.

But keeping every bat can require a compromise elsewhere.

The Yankees must decide whether an infield arrangement that maximizes offense would also withstand the defensive tests that exposed New York during its October elimination by the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees were swept by the Rays in the American League Division Series.

It was a disappointing end to a season that saw Rice emerge as the team's most consistent offensive threat.

Rice was blunt in his reaction to the postseason exit.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's a failure since we weren't able to get the job done," Rice said, according to MLB.com.

"It's on to next year, unfortunately."

"They outplayed us, plain and simple."

"They outpitched us, outhit us."

"It's really that simple."

Despite the team's failure, Rice's individual performance in the postseason was historic.

He hit four home runs and drove in nine runs across five games.

His OPS for the postseason was 1.605.

He homered twice in AL Wild Card Game 1 against the Boston Red Sox.

He repeated the feat in Game 2 of the ALDS against Tampa Bay.

Rice became the first player in Yankees history to record two multihomer games in a single postseason.

According to baseball analyst Paul Hembekides, Rice recorded 21 of the Yankees' 61 total bases during the postseason.

That accounted for 34 percent of the team's total bases.

It was the highest share by any individual whose team played at least five games in a single postseason.

Rice's regular season numbers were also strong enough to earn him a Silver Slugger Award nomination.

He is a finalist at the designated hitter position.

His competition includes Yordan Alvarez, who is the favorite to win the American League MVP award after flirting with the Triple Crown.

Rice was not named one of the three AL MVP finalists.

The finalists are Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals, Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros, and Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Yankees fans reacted sharply to the omission.