Welcome to the latest edition of the Yankees Beat newsletter. This week’s edition was written by Casey Drottar, an editorial producer with MLB.com. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MILWAUKEE -- As Spencer Jones acclimated with the visiting clubhouse at American Family Field Friday morning, he made a point to seek out Ben Rice.
Jones -- ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Yankees’ No. 6 prospect -- had been climbing through the Minor League ranks with Rice ever since he was selected with the 25th overall pick in the 2022 Draft. And after getting the news that he was being called up to the Majors on Thursday, reuniting with Rice was definitely an early highlight to his day.
But more importantly, Jones wanted to make sure Rice understood he was going to have a shadow for the next few hours.
“I told Ben this morning I'm going to be attached to his hip today,” Jones said.
Rice held up his end of the bargain, showing Jones around and giving him the rundown on where he was supposed to go as he tried to soak in his first day in the Majors. The two could be spotted sitting alongside each other on the dugout bench moments before Jones took his first practice swings on a big league field.
But as Jones experienced the emotions that came with the start of his big league career, one tip he received from his teammates stood out above the rest -- as overwhelming as it all may feel, it's still the same game as it was in the Minors.
That particular advice proved crucial for Rice when he made his own MLB debut in 2024.
“I definitely had guys tell me that when I got up, and I think it helps relax you a little bit,” Rice said. “You build it up in your mind a lot, and then once you're out there, once you get that first play, that first at-bat out of the way, it's just a big exhale, and you can just relax and go play.”
Jones’ first MLB at-bat coming against Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski might’ve been a little more difficult for Rice to relate to. Still, having played alongside him through three Minor League tiers, Rice knows getting such a daunting welcome-to-the-bigs moment won’t do much to alter Jones’ daily approach.
“It's just the same guy every day,” Rice said of Jones’ demeanor. “For such a big and powerful guy, he’s always very relaxed. I’ll say, ‘What's going on?’ He's like, ‘I'm just cruising.’ That's his saying.”
While Rice spent the first month of the season becoming one of the Yankees’ most productive hitters, Jones was cruising through Triple-A, bashing 11 homers and plating an International League-leading 41 RBIs. He admitted the idea of being called up was on his mind Thursday, but he was focused only on preparing for that night’s game. He remained that way even as Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre manager Shelley Duncan announced that his teammate, reliever Kervin Castro, was headed back to the bigs.
Moments later, Duncan informed everyone that Jones was going with him.
Jones spent the ensuing moments informing his family and making arrangements to meet the Yankees in Milwaukee, all while receiving numerous congratulatory messages.
One of those came from Rice, who wanted to make sure the news of Jones’ callup was legit before officially welcoming his former Minor League teammate he hadn’t seen since Spring Training.
“I found out via social media,” Rice said. “But I didn't want to text him until I knew for sure. So I waited until things unfolded a little more.”
Though Jones arrived in Milwaukee already trying to prepare for his first big league at-bats, it was hard for him to mask the thrill of making it to The Show.
“There was a youthful excitement to him,” manager Aaron Boone said. “When I greeted him here in the clubhouse, he gave me a big hug and he's just like, ‘I'm so excited.’ It’s cool to see.
“When guys get here, it's a lifelong dream come true. There’s a lot of emotions that come with that. There's a lot of people that are involved in your journey that you're thinking about, as well.”
Rice was one of those people on Jones’ journey to the Majors. And while he insists he wants to give Jones the space to discover life in the bigs on his own, he also wants to make sure the Yankees’ latest callup doesn’t forget the fact he’s earned every right to be here.
“I surely would like to just instill the confidence in him that he can play at this level,” Rice said. “He knows he's good enough, and he belongs here. I think that's an important thing to recognize -- he belongs.”