Paul Goldschmidt’s return to the Yankees ‘complicates’ Ben Rice’s daily role

TAMPA — Ben Rice may not want to get rid of his catcher’s gear just yet.

While the rising slugger will still be the Yankees’ regular first baseman this season, re-signing Paul Goldschmidt as a veteran backup could also lead to a few more starts behind the plate for Rice, according to manager Aaron Boone.

“I don’t expect this to impact Rice because we think Rice is a star and we think he’s going to be in the middle of the lineup for a long time,” Boone said Sunday on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM.

“Before we signed Goldy back, I thought Rice was really our third catcher [behind Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra]. Protect yourself late in the game if you make an aggressive move with the bench or whatever, you have that cover. Now it probably pushes him a little bit more into a – I don’t expect much – but a little more of a gripping role. There are tough days for lefties, we want Goldy there, we can put Ben behind the plate because we think he will hold his own against lefties as well.

“So it complicates things a little bit there, but to round out our roster with a really good player [in Goldschmidt]we felt like we had to do it.”

Boone acknowledged that Goldschmidt “wasn’t necessarily the perfect fit” — a right-handed outfielder would have been more useful given the makeup of their projected roster — but the Yankees opted to go with what they believed was the best player available in free agency to help balance their left-handed bias.

Goldschmidt crushed left-handed pitching last season, posting a .981 OPS, though the Yankees have said they want the left-handed Rice — who started 46 games at first base, 26 at catcher and 48 at DH in 2025 — to see his fair share of lefties this year as well.

While signing Goldschmidt to a one-year deal worth $4 million, as The Post’s Jon Heyman reported, shouldn’t impact Rice’s overall playing time, it could have some ripple effects on the rest of the roster, especially with how the Yankees shape their bench.

If everyone stays healthy through spring training, the Yankees bench will likely include Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario and two of Escarra, Oswaldo Cabrera and Jasson Domínguez.

Escarra is still the true backup catcher, but depending on how often the Yankees would play Rice there, that could change.

Cabrera and Domínguez are both switch-hitters who are better from the left side, although the Yankees may need Cabrera more as a backup shortstop for José Caballero (as they seemed uncomfortable doing so against Rosario last season).

Boone, meanwhile, indicated that a strict bench role was unlikely for Domínguez (and top outfield prospect Spencer Jones).

“Probably not in either situation where we would want them as bench pieces — that doesn’t mean there isn’t a scenario where they’re part of a real rotation and there’s real regular playing time,” Boone said. “But there is still a lot to be done between now and when we break camp at the end of March.”