Yankees' Cody Bellinger gives Ben Rice DH seal of approval with NSFW praise

New York Yankees center fielder Cody Bellinger assumed the first base position in Wednesday's road game in Clearwater in part because Paul Goldschmidt is taking a restorative breather, but also in order to make sure one rookie could continue his showcase at the DH position.

When playoff hero Giancarlo Stanton reported to camp unable to swing a bat, and the possibility of a long-term absence immediately dawned on Yankees Universe, Ben Rice was an afterthought. If the Yankees were going to attempt to replace Stanton's thump, surely they'd need to add a postseason bonafide, or at least an All-Star like Nolan Arenado.

Questions about how the Yankees, who knew all offseason that Stanton was hurt, chose to enter the season with two clear roster holes are still valid. But they were certainly hoping that Rice's excellent metrics from his rookie season, combined with the chest muscle he put on this offseason, would help change his fate moving forward.

So far, so good. The "hits weren't falling" in spring's first 10-or-so games, but now, things have normalized. They're still not falling, but that's because they're clearing the fence by 25 feet.

Or, as Bellinger put it, Rice is "hitting the absolute shit out of the ball" these days, en route to his five spring homers and .283 average/.974 OPS.

Yankees' Cody Bellinger has high NSFW praise for Giancarlo Stanton replacement Ben Rice

Last season, Rice arrived as a first base savior when Anthony Rizzo went down midsummer. Most feared the Yankees would try a stopgap, but they instead went with their most surprising high-level prospect. He delivered a barrage of homers at first, three-dingering the Red Sox and hitting six in his first 24 games, including a clutch smash at Camden Yards that ended up on the cutting room floor, thanks to Clay Holmes and Alex Verdugo.

He tailed off significantly after the All-Star Break, finishing his season with eight hits in 86 plate appearances across 26 games. That slide left him as a less-than-perfect Stanton fill-in, in case of emergency. It also left him motivated to bulk and prove the previous statement wrong.

Now prepared at both first base and catcher, too (and his other backup cohort JC Escarra isn't half bad, either), Rice will more than likely be in the Yankees' Opening Day lineup, asked only to mash. Spring training statistics aren't gospel, but when the performance aligns with the data, and the player in question put on 10 pounds specifically intended to turn well-struck flyouts into homers, there might just be enough reason to believe.