As the manager of the New York Yankees, Aaron Boone is well aware that he must be careful with his carrot-and-stick approach. Just as Boone cut Jazz Chisholm Jr. some slack after his recent fielding error, he didn’t hesitate to call out some of the things Ben Rice has been doing right and wrong during his recent slump. Boone made it clear that being without Aaron Judge for most of the 2026 MLB season is no excuse for the way the offense has performed so far.

Coming off yet another hitless outing for Rice—his fourth in the Yankees last five games—Boone was asked about the slump the 27-year-old designated hitter is going through. Especially ever since Judge was assigned to the 60-Day Injured List (IL). Still, the manager urged Rice to figure things out as the Bronx Bombers gear for the home stretch of the MLB campaign.

“I do feel like [Rice] had a few games in there where he really started to swing the bat well, and wasn’t really getting rewarded for. He’s been a tick off now,” Boone said during an appearance on Talkin’ Yanks. “I think the easy thing is to say that the supporting cast is not there. They pitch how they pitch you.”

Through his last five games, Rice has only one hit in 19 at-bats. The one ball he made solid contact with was a tie-breaking 10th-inning home run that allowed the Yankees to avoid a sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays. It came shortly after he made a mistake on a ground ball that eventually led to the game-tying run and sent the game to extra innings.

Rice responded but couldn’t keep it up for NY Yankees

Thus, maybe Rice needs some sort of adversity to respond to. Boone’s statement may not be a matter of throwing his DH under the bus, but rather lighting a fire under him. Only time will tell how Rice reacts, though.

However, there’s reason for fans to hold out hope, especially after Boone addressed Judge’s return during the 2026 MLB season. Considering how different Rice’s batting was when Judge was healthy and how much it has dropped since his injury, getting No. 99 back in the lineup could help Rice come alive.

On that note, while the numbers say one thing and illustrate a clear point, Boone doesn’t necessarily believe in them and doesn’t think Rice’s drop in production has much to do with Judge being absent.

“[Indeed], if you’ve got a better lineup, you’re scoring more, so the pitcher is in trouble more so there’s more pressure on the pitcher. That part of it is very real. That’s where the thing is, not so much that they’re pitching him different because [Aaron] Judge is not there. The book is the book. Guys get pitched how they get pitched,” Boone concluded.

Rice’s numbers with and without Judge

Through the first three months of the season, when Judge was healthy enough to play for the Bronx Bombers, Rice batted .321, along with a .418 OBP, .617 SLG and 1.035 OPS. Things headed south ever since Judge was sidelined with a stress fracture in his right first rib on May 31.

From June onward, Rice’s batting average dropped to .187, while he posted a .289 OBP, .398 SLG and .687 OPS. Despite a moderate bounce-back in July, Rice’s overall numbers have plummeted since Judge went down with the injury. In August, Rice has the second-worst batting average (.096) on the Yankees among players with at least five games played, ahead of only Heliot Ramos.

Considering Rice is the team’s designated hitter, his recent production is gut-punching. Rice’s primary job is to provide offense, but the plate has turned into a house of horrors for him as of late.