​Juan Soto thinks Ben Rice is a “badass.”Soto was interviewed in Spanish by Jomboy Media on the red carpet at the All-Star Game on Tuesday and asked why he posed for photos with his former Yankees teammates, Rice, Cody Bellinger and Cam Schlittler, during the All-Star festivities.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Ben Rice, he’s my guy, a badass,” Soto said in Spanish.Rice went 1-for-2 with an RBI in the American League’s 4-0 victory over the National League, while teammate Cody Bellinger won MVP honors after his two-run single in the first inning.Rice has made an early case for AL MVP honors through the first half of the season. With Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton sidelined by injury, the Yankees first baseman is batting .279 with 29 homers and 68 RBI.Ben Rice is listed at +1400 on BetMGM to win AL MVP this year. Our complete BetMGM Sportsbook review will show you how to navigate through their app.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs for Soto, he seemed overjoyed to pose with his former teammates.“You know, we are family,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s competition in there but in the end we are friends, we are brothers, we always get along. We were there talking, ‘Let’s get a picture, let’s go for a pic’ because you tell me, these are the memories that we take with us.”MORE BYADAM ZAGORIADerek Jeter understands why Yankees fans are ‘frustrated’ with Anthony VolpeJul. 15, 2026, 6:41 a.m.Tim Kurkjian, David Ortiz expect Yankees to be ‘active’ at MLB trade deadlineJul. 15, 2026, 6:17 a.m.Soto’s responses in Spanish were much different from his answers in English a day before.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking with NJ.com’s Randy Miller, Soto was asked if he missed playing with Judge.Soto shook his head and said, “What do you mean? I miss, like that doesn’t make sense at all. You know.”Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.