The Yankees attempted to downplay it, but there was an interesting sight on the Stadium infield more than four hours before the finale of the Subway Series.
Ben Rice, the odd man out of the team’s daily lineup logjam Sunday night against the Mets, took several minutes of ground balls at third base along with backup catcher J.C. Escarra from infield coach Travis Chapman.
Aaron Boone told The Post to “not necessarily read anything into it,” and Rice said he’s “just doing it for fun right now,” but the converted catcher already has adapted well to a position switch from catcher to first base.
With starting third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the injured list, it couldn’t hurt to get Rice some work at third base to see if he can handle the position, at least in a pinch.
“He took ground balls at second, short, third, first. Just getting his feet moving,” Chapman told The Post before the game. “I like putting him in a position where he’s got to be more athletic with his feet. … He’s a bit more athletic, so we started moving him around different positions, just playing around.
“He’s a first baseman over there. That’s our main priority, is getting his feet working to put him in a more athletic position.”
With Paul Goldschmidt entrenched at first base, and Trent Grisham earning steady playing time in center between Aaron Judge and either Cody Bellinger or Jasson Domínguez, the 26-year-old Rice has garnered 131 of his 160 plate appearances so far this season as the team’s designated hitter.
That figures to change once veteran slugger Giancarlo Stanton returns from the 60-day injured list; he’s resumed facing live pitching and there is some optimism that he might return in the coming weeks.
Domínguez served as the DH in Sunday’s game, with Rice on the bench.
The 30-year-old Escarra came up as an infielder before converting to catcher, and he made 19 appearances at third base last year in the Yankees minor league system. He also made one late-game appearance at the position for the Yanks earlier this season.
“Just trying to keep that tool sharp,” Escarra said. “I don’t want to be a guy who can’t play another position, and I’ve always prided myself on that. I’ll be ready however they want to use me.”
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