Yankees' call-up decision should be extremely obvious after Paul Goldschmidt injury

When lefty masher Paul Goldschmidt didn't pinch hit for Austin Wells with Anthony Volpe on third, two outs, and a lefty reliever in the game for the Twins in the seventh inning on Wednesday, there were only two conclusions to draw. Either Aaron Boone had thrown in the towel and decided to treat a three-run game like an exhibition, or Goldschmidt's body was barking.

The fan base's opinion of Boone is low, but he's not quite that thick. In the postgame after the loss, Boone revealed that Goldschmidt had tweaked his knee catching a popup in Tuesday night's victory. He's already undergone tests, and he's only battling a low-grade sprain. The Yankees still hope he can avoid the IL — and he certainly hopes that, too, given that the team is about to head to his old home in St. Louis.

Add in the reality that the Yankees added two more platoon bats in Amed Rosario and Austin Slater at the trade deadline, and they're both already hurt, and yeah ... everyone would prefer not to shuffle the roster any further.

But ... if Goldschmidt needs 10 days off after all ... there's only one solution that can impact the game at anywhere near the level of the player the Yankees are losing. No offense to Braden Shewmake and Jorbit Vivas, but that's not going to be additive. Even if it's just a short breather for Goldschmidt, the Yankees would still be much better off adding Spencer Jones to the 40-man roster, DFA'ing Shewmake (seriously, he's on the 40-man?!), letting Cody Bellinger get some reps at first, and going supernova.

Yankees should add Spencer Jones to 40-man roster, call him up in Paul Goldschmidt injury needs IL stint

It's going to be Vivas, though, right? Ugh.

Jones, at the peak of his heater, missed a chance to even join the conversation to replace Aaron Judge last month because of back spasms. He hasn't reached those same molten-hot heights in the weeks since he's returned. In fact, he's down to .130 with a single home run in August (objectively bad).

But the 40-man shuffle is just a formality here, and Shewmake will be shoved off the roster in a month and a half anyhow. With Everson Pereira no longer in the fold, the Yankees need thump and someone who can run into one with the roster spot they're about to gain. Fans wanted to get Jones' feet wet anyway. Why not now, when the expectations will be lessened, given the alternatives (Vivas moves no needles)? Just play strong defense, take aim at the stands, and run into a few before September.

Who knows? Maybe he even makes himself undeniable and freezes out Slater's eventual return. There's a higher chance of that happening than the redundant Vivas even sniffing the field to do anything other than pinch run or steal a start from a better player. If Goldschmidt isn't able to gut it out, the choice couldn't be clearer. It's not even a stretch.