Pedro Martinez paid respect to a Boston Red Sox rival enjoying a breakout season.
TBS broadcast the New York Yankees’ 3-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night. Before the game, Martinez praised first baseman Ben Rice as a top candidate for the American League MVP award.
“After watching Ben Rice closely, I’ve said it before: he might be Aaron Judge’s biggest threat in the MVP race,” Martinez said.
Sidelined indefinitely with a stress fracture, Judge almost certainly won’t retain his MVP crown for the third straight season. However, the honor could stay with the Yankees.
Rice is off to a torrid start, batting .297/.392/.626 with 18 home runs. The Massachusetts native last went yard in Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Red Sox.
The 27-year-old has helped the Yankees register an AL-leading .762 team OPS. They’ll need Rice to fill the massive void of Judge’s absence while competing with the Tampa Bay Rays for control of the division.
While Rice is swinging a scorching bat, he has plenty of competition in the AL MVP race.
Rice ranks second in OPS to Yordan Alvarez, who’s batting a blistering .318/.432/.642 with 22 home runs. If voters were to overlook defense in favor of the best slugger, it’d make sense to choose the Houston Astros star instead.
His .277/.352/.451 slash line isn’t MVP-caliber, but Bobby Witt Jr. still leads MLB with 3.7 fWAR on the strength of his glove. The red-hot Nick Kurtz is also working his way into the conversation with a .969 OPS.
The Red Sox will see Rice and the Yankees again for a four-game series at Fenway Park in two weeks.
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