TAMPA — Ben Rice is now experiencing how opposing pitchers probably felt about him last season: a pain in the neck.
In the first few days of camp, the Yankees slugger has not yet joined his teammates to hit on the field because he is dealing with a minor neck issue after recently sleeping on it wrong, Rice said Saturday.
He has been getting treatment on his neck and was hoping to resume swinging in the coming days.
“I fall asleep in one position and wake up in another — something everyone deals with,” Rice said.
The neck issue did not prevent Rice from catching Carlos Rodón’s bullpen session later Saturday morning, as he continues to mix in work behind the plate in addition to his duties as the Yankees’ regular first baseman this season.
Chase Hampton, who underwent Tommy John surgery last March, threw a bullpen session Saturday that he said was his eighth as he continues his rehab from the full UCL reconstruction.
Only two years removed from being one of the Yankees’ top pitching prospects, Hampton has thrown just 18 2/3 innings over the last two seasons because of elbow issues.
He does not yet know when he might be able to return to game action this season, but the right-hander indicated that being added to the club’s 40-man roster this winter (to protect him from the Rule 5 draft) gave him some peace of mind that the Yankees still have him in their future plans
“It took a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Hampton said. “It puts me in perspective of, I got some time to get my feet under me and not have to worry about going out there and performing so early. I feel like right now, I’m in a really good spot to continue what I’m doing and continue to get better each day.”
Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough each threw two innings of live batting practice Saturday afternoon.
Warren struck out both Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt while Amed Rosario took Yarbrough deep.
Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest also faced hitters and flashed some “electricity,” Aaron Boone said.
The rest of the Yankees position players (who are not participating in the WBC) are set to report to camp Sunday. … Cam Schlittler continued to play catch as he deals with mid-back/left lat inflammation.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
