Ben Rice's remarkable season has been a key to keeping the New York Yankees afloat.

Rice didn't have a clear path to playing time in spring training, but Giancarlo Stanton's elbow injuries opened the door to at-bats early on. Once Stanton returned, Rice saw more time on the bench at first, but lately, he's been carving out a role for himself at an unexpected position.

Though he was a catcher and first baseman in the minors, Rice didn't have a single start in the majors behind the plate until mid-June, with Austin Wells entrenched as the starter. Lately, though, the split has been a lot more even.

Rice has caught six of the Yankees' last 12 games as of Wednesday, and with another home run on Monday night, his 17th of the season, he's threatening to snatch the starting job from Wells, the

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