Longtime analyst John Flaherty predicts Ben Rice's long-term home with Yankees

Wild Card Series - Boston Red Sox v New York Yankees - Game Two | Ishika Samant/GettyImagesBen Rice started the season a near-complete unknown for the New York Yankees, and ended it as a utility Silver Slugger finalist (and he would've won, too, if the voting body could've comfortably redefined "utility" on the fly). Odds are it'll be his final nomination in that particular role moving forward.

That's not to say Rice will regress from his 26-homer, 131 OPS+, playoff-igniter of a season (which would've ended against Boston in two had he not thundered one early against Brayan Bello). It's just to note that he's not likely to get the requisite 20+ games at catcher necessary for the…