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Ernesto Martinez Jr. could be called up to the New York Yankees soon.

Paul Goldschmidt’s Yankees future is suddenly in doubt, and a 6-foot-6 Triple-A slugger is surging upward. Goldschmidt is hitting .179 for the New York Yankees this season, and a respected insider now believes the former NL MVP’s days in pinstripes are numbered.

That possibility shifts immediate attention to who could take over first base next.

Chris Kirschner of The Athletic laid out the Yankees’ roster calculus in a piece published Tuesday. With Giancarlo Stanton headed to the injured list and Jasson Dominguez returning to the active roster, New York faces a numbers problem. Kirschner identified Goldschmidt and outfielder Randal Grichuk as the two most likely candidates to be designated for assignment once Stanton and Anthony Volpe return to full health.

If New York makes the move, one overlooked Triple-A bat could become the immediate winner.

“With [Ben] Rice’s emergence and his viability against left-handed pitching, Goldschmidt’s value to the roster has taken a hit,” Kirschner wrote according to The Athletic. The 38-year-old veteran has hit just one home run with four RBIs in a mere 33 plate appearances. Manager Aaron Boone has already acknowledged that finding him playing time has grown increasingly difficult, according to a New York Post report.

Rice has been one of the stories of the Yankees’ 19-10 start, already reaching double digits in home runs. He has made it virtually impossible for New York to justify keeping a struggling veteran in the lineup at his expense.

Ernesto Martinez Jr.’s Hot Start Makes Promotion Case

If the Yankees do cut ties with Goldschmidt, they will need first base depth behind Rice. At the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 26-year-old Cuban-Haitian first baseman Ernesto Martinez Jr. is making a loud argument for a possible call-up.

Through 22 games with the RailRiders, Martinez is hitting .260 with five home runs, 13 RBIs, and an .846 OPS. The numbers only tell part of Martinez’s case. On April 24, with the RailRiders trailing Rochester, Martinez launched a two-run homer in the eighth inning to tie the game, then delivered the walk-off hit in the 10th to seal a 4-3 victory. It was his second straight game with a decisive contribution.

The 6-foot-6, 254-pound first baseman signed with New York as a minor-league free agent last December after spending eight seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. The Yankees signed him out of the Brewers system, drawing comparisons to Bryce Harper at the time of the deal. A Brewers analyst had initially made the Harper comparison when Martinez first signed professionally, citing his combination of size, left-handed power, and athleticism.

Martinez Jr.’s Long Road to the Yankees

Martinez’s road to this moment has been unusually difficult. Martinez grew up in Holguín, Cuba, and was a standout on Cuba’s national youth teams before his father, Cuban National Series catcher Ernesto Martínez Sr., relocated the family to France. The younger Martinez then trained at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic before the Brewers signed him during the 2017 international signing period, according to Patrick Ellington Jr. of the Red Black Green Baseball Blog.

Injuries derailed large stretches of his minor league career, but his tools have never been in question. Ellington described Martinez as perhaps the most unique active prospect in the minors, noting his long arms, smooth footwork, and elite range at first base as assets that give him a real defensive floor to complement his offensive ceiling.

The Brewers never promoted him despite his production, and Martinez elected free agency last November. Now in the Yankees system, with Goldschmidt’s roster spot suddenly vulnerable, Martinez may be closer than ever to a long-awaited major league shot.