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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 03: Ben Rice #22 of the New York Yankees rounds the bases following his first inning solo home run against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on May 03, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images)

The New York Yankees will be without Ben Rice for at least another game as he deals with a left hand contusion. But according to manager Aaron Boone, it shouldn’t be too much longer before the slugging first baseman is back in the lineup.

Boone said Wednesday that Rice remains day-to-day but continues to trend in the right direction.

“It doesn’t like it’s going to be an IL (stint),” Boone told YES Network’s Meredith Marakovits. “If it continues to not get to a point where it’s playable then obviously we’ll have that conversation. But it does seem day-to-day.

“I know he felt better today, so hopefully he’s able to do some things and may be available on some level. But we’ll see.”

Rice Remains Out of Yankees Lineup

Rice is set to miss his third straight game Wednesday after exiting Sunday’s 11-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles after the third inning. The 27-year-old injured his hand after taking a pickoff throw from southpaw Max Fried. X-rays came back negative, and Rice was called day-to-day.

“It’s a little sore,” Rice said, via MLB.com, following the game. “I thought the throw from (Fried) was going to be a little lower than it was. I went down and thought it would be in the dirt. Then it kind of stayed up in the end. I caught it poorly. It kind of hit in the palm.”

Veteran Paul Goldschmidt has started in Rice’s place and homered in Tuesday’s 7-4 victory over the Texas Rangers.

Rice is Off to Hot Start With Yankees

Rice has been one of baseball’s breakout stars early on, hitting .343 with 12 home runs and 37 RBI in 33 games. His 1.214 OPS leads all players, including teammate Aaron Judge (1.059).

The Yankees (25-11) have reaped the benefits. They lead the American League in wins and are second in the majors with a plus-79 run differential, trailing only the Atlanta Braves (plus-81).

New York entered Wednesday on a five-game win streak.