Yankees Monday Mailbag 5/11: Bednar Vibes, Rice's Return and an Unlikely All-Star?

This week's mailbag questions for Yankees on SI!

New York Yankees relief pitcher David Bednar (53) reacts during the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

To submit your questions, reach out to Joseph Randazzo on X or Instagram at @YankeeLibrarian

Here are the three most pressing issues that were on Yankees' fans minds this week:

David Bednar concerns beginning to mount

I never feel good when Bednar comes into the game. He's not lights out... or is it just me?

Rik

No, it's not just you. Compared to last year, Bednar has been a disappointment. He always has runners on and seems to be walking a tightrope whenever he takes the mound and the walk-off didn't help.

In a lot of ways, Mariano Rivera spoiled everybody, so all relievers in comparison are the lesser player by a mile, but your closer probably shouldn't leave runners on base at a rate of 63.6%. The last time Bednar was that bad in that category was in 2024. He had a 5.77 ERA in 57.2 innings and was optioned to Triple-A to start 2025.

New York Yankees pitcher David Bednar (53) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers in the ninth inning at American Family Field. | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Then there's the fact that Bednar has seen a dip in velocity. This year, he's averaging 95.7 mph on the heater. That's down from last year. He averaged 97.1 on it in 2025.

It feels like if the Yankees can upgrade the position come the deadline, they should. They'll give Bednar every opportunity to succeed, but with that decline in velocity, it feels like he's trying to navigate that in real time, and it just hasn't been working out. Now it feels like it's the second coming of 2024's "Cardiac Clay."

Consider the fact that maybe the Yankees are cursed at closer. Mo was just so good, and the baseball Gods decided that the ninth inning would be an adventure for a bit.

Ben Rice's post-return struggles

Do you think Ben Rice was rushed back?

Ezra

Ben Rice getting hurt on a throw from Max Fried and missing a few games feels like the New York Yankees ended up avoiding what could have been a season-changing injury. Aaron Judge and Rice started the year doing things that looked like they'd have a Maris-and-Mantle-type season — at least in the early goings. Understandably, the Yankees wanted to get their tandem back.

This was probably less a case of the player being rushed back than of him needing to knock the rust off, though. He was making great contact all weekend when he did connect.

New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (22) hits a solo home run in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Consider the first game a wash, because Jacob Misiorowski strikes out everybody. Even still, Rice had a 100.2 mph flyout. In game two, his 104.9 mph ground ball resulted in a double play. In that third game, he barreled a ball in the first and third innings. He had a 106.5 MPH liner in the first that had an expected batting average of .600. His 102.2 mph flyout in the second had a .410 xBA. Then, his 100.2 mph groundout in the sixth inning had an xBA of .630.

Rice has always been great against the Orioles. That will be a solid test.

José Caballero's All-Star chances

Cabby All-Star?

Matt

It would be a great story if the Yankees were able to find an all-star to fill Anthony Volpe's shoes. This wasn't a monumental task, but the importance lay in his ability to prevent a collective gasp from fans whenever a liner was hit to shortstop. On that front, Cabby has succeeded.

It does seem unlikely for now that Caballero ends up at the All-Star Game. Bobby Witt Jr. would probably start, but that goes without saying.

Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen (22) dumps water on shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) after the game against the Detroit Tigers at Kauffman Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Just under him on that AL All-Star depth chart, as of this writing, is probably Kevin McGonigle. He has some positional versatility between shortstop and third, but shortstop has been his primary position. He has 202 innings at short and 127.2 at third. This year, he's hitting .293/.395/.435.

Colson Montgomery is another name to watch. He's hitting .221/.323/.483. All of his games have been at short.

Then there's Brayan Rocchio. He has the versatility that McGonigle does, except at second and short, but most of his time this year has come at short. He's hitting .278/.360/.383.

This isn't to say Caballero can't get the nod. A lot can happen between now and then. For one, Caballero can get hot. If that happens, he can shoot by these guys pretty easily. He has already brought a ton of value, even though he started off really slow in the first few weeks of the season.

Fangraphs has a way to look up a player's numbers while they're specifically at short, and Caballero is one of five shortstops in the American League to have over a 1 WAR. It's him plus most of the above-mentioned names, and Jacob Wilson.

Caballero is also one of two shortstops with double-digit stolen bases. He leads the AL with 13. Witt has 12.

Then there's the matter of defense. Caballero has 9 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and 2 Outs Above Average (OAA). He's first in the league in DRS and 4th in OAA.