In Matt Carpenter, the Yankees have given Joey Gallo an inspiration to change - or to ponder his replacement

Last night, the long and winding tale of Matt Carpenter took an interesting twist: His HR helped propel the Yankees to a 2-0 win over Tampa, ensuring the Death Barge, at worst, a split in the four-game series. 

It was Carpenter's first HR since April 30, 2021, when he was mired in a career-crushing slump with the Cards, the only team he'd ever known. Last year, he was horrible - .169 with 3 HRs in 249 at bats. For three seasons, he'd only gotten worse.

In essence, he is Joey Gallo, one year from now.

Over the winter, Carpenter sought out several "swing doctors," an MLB cottage industry, whose proponents include JD Martinez, Justin Turner and Aaron Judge. About 20 years ago, radical new techniques revolutionized hitting - the Ted Williams upper-cut replacing the "Charlie Lau" theory of hitting, which dominated most of the previous century.  

Carpenter rejiggered his swing and signed a minor league deal with Texas. In Triple A this season, he was hitting .275 with 6 HRs in about 100 at bats. His contract contained an OUT clause, allowing him to walk. He invoked it, the Yankees pounced, and last night, he might have launched his golden journey on the Road to Redemption. 

Or maybe I'm watching too much YES.

Which brings us to Gallo... 

Listen: Carpenter won't replace Gallo in the OF. Over 12 seasons, he's made only 25 appearances - 117 innings - in the outfield. But he ought to get Gallo thinking, because unless Joey changes his ways, it's only a matter of time before the Yankees cut bait.  

Gallo is - well - awful. I can't watch anymore. Last night, he actually got a hit - a single! going 1-4 with two strikeouts - lifting his average to .169. In his last seven games, he is 1-for-24 with 13 strikeouts - which leads to today's question:

How long do the Yankees go with Gallo? Let's do a multiple choice: 

a. Until they fall out of first place, or hit an extended losing streak.

b. Until everybody is healthy again - Giancarlo, Hicks, Donaldson, Locastro, et al.

c. Until he does something incredibly bone-headed, costing us a big game. It could be anything. Think: What would Gary Sanchez do?

d. Until, say, the all-star break. Gotta be a point where Boone goes to Cashman and says, "Enough is enough." 

e. Until a replacement appears. Miguel Andujar, maybe? Another minor league retread? Triple A is brimming with guys like Carpenter, and unless their agent is Dopey Dildox, their contracts feature exit ramps. If the Yankees see somebody - anybody - Gallo isn't giving them reason to sit and wait. (Note: As painful as this is to write, I say NO to Robbie and Gardy.) 

Just on the basis of last night's HR, Carpenter may have already leapfrogged Gallo and Aaron Hicks as a LH batting option. If he continues to hit - and the bar is low here - Carpenter will take playing time from both.

Finally, Gallo needs to take a good hard look at Carpenter - and at his future. Time is running out.