Ben Rice immediately shows off new physique in first Yankees at-bat vs. Twins

If the New York Yankees are going to be missing Giancarlo Stanton for an extended period of time (and it seems like they might be), then they'll need internal DH options to step up and steal reps. It's too late to add a true difference-maker in free agency or on the trade market. Besides, if they want to import talent, they'll want to bring someone in who can play the field rather than a DH-only option like JD Martinez.

Unless Stanton is out for the season. Which ... don't want to think about that, but we'll depressingly cross that bridge if we come to it. IF! If. Not when.

All of this to say that the Yankees are going to be reliant on internal options to take his place. It's less than ideal; after all, most believed they didn't have quite enough offensive depth before the Stanton injury, let alone after. Still, it will allow someone unexpected from the minors to claim a roster spot on Opening Day and potentially run from there.

One choice could be Everson Pereira, who is on the 40-man roster and can't play the field until a few months down the line as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. He homered the opposite way in Tuesday's non-televised game against the Minnesota Twins to get the ball rolling on that conversation just a bit.

Another option who could get the leg up for his versatility is Ben Rice. He's started at catcher already this spring after debuting at first base in Anthony Rizzo's stead last season. His bat has always been his calling card at the minor-league level, and outside of a three-homer game against Boston and a clutch smash in Baltimore (ruined by Clay Holmes), he didn't perform much last year ... though his advanced metrics indicated elite barrel rate/walk/chase rates that could signal a more potent performance moving forward.

In an effort to make himself noticed, Rice purportedly added 10 pounds of muscle to his wiry frame, increasing his upper body strength in an effort to make sure his power played. Given his swing plane and propensity to aim for the right field short porch, the additional heft could do wonders.

In fact, it already paid off hundreds of miles from Yankee Stadium on Tuesday when Rice rocketed a 111.1 mph single as an impressive opening statement.

Yankees spring training: Ben Rice rips 111 MPH single vs. Twins

He later followed that up with an additional RBI single off old friend Michael Tonkin, scoring fellow top prospect Roderick Arias.

Rice would be nobody's ideal preseason Stanton replacement in a vacuum, but playing closer to his career norms and underlying numbers would quickly endear him to a fanbase looking for potency. The backup catcher/first baseman clearly did the work this offseason to put his bat in the best position to contribute, and he just might get an unexpected opportunity to show off that progress sooner than we expected.

Of course, Dom Smith did just follow Rice's second single with a two-run shot of his own, so it's plausible the Yankees go with the veteran instead. Sorry, kid. Try adding another 10 pounds?