Yankees To Signal Paul Goldschmidt

The Yankees have agreed to a one-year, $12.5MM cope with Paul Goldschmidt. Jack Curry of YES Community was the primary to report that the 2 sides had been in settlement, whereas Bob Nightengale of USA At this time added the greenback worth of the contract for the Excel Sports activities Administration shopper. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com notes that it’s a straight one-year contract with none choices hooked up.

Nightengale describes the Yankees’ pursuit of Goldschmidt this week as aggressive, although he notes they had been additionally in talks with Christian Walker earlier than he signed with the Astros. Carlos Santana was one other first baseman New York reportedly thought-about. The Yankees had additionally been linked to Pete Alonso earlier within the offseason, however Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Thursday that they had been “more and more doubtless” to go for a inexpensive first base signing. Certainly, Goldschmidt’s $12.5MM wage is nicely beneath the three-year, $60MM assure Walker acquired from Houston and the five-year, $125MM deal MLBTR predicted for Alonso. It’s additionally beneath the one-year, $15MM pact we predicted for Goldschmidt after we ranked him at no. 35 on our High 50 Free Brokers checklist.

Goldschmidt, 37, was a free agent for the primary time in his profession. Drafted by the Diamondbacks in 2009, he made his massive league debut with Arizona in 2011. After a robust begin to his MLB profession, he signed an extension with the D-backs that stored him beneath crew management by way of the 2019 season. Upon being traded to the Cardinals in 2019, he signed one other extension that ran by way of 2024. By these years with Arizona and St. Louis, Goldschmidt was among the finest gamers in baseball. He made seven All-Star groups, gained 5 Silver Sluggers, and earned NL MVP honors in 2022. Over 1928 profession video games, he has slashed .289/.381/.510 with 362 house runs and a 139 wRC+.

Since his MVP season in 2022, Goldschmidt has taken a couple of steps again. His .810 OPS and 122 wRC+ in 2023 had been extra good than nice, whereas his .716 OPS and 100 wRC+ in 2024 had been merely league common. That’s not an encouraging development for a primary baseman coming into his late thirties. Nonetheless, Goldschmidt’s underlying numbers in 2024 supply somewhat extra promise. His .308 batting common on balls in play was nicely beneath his profession common of .343. Equally, his .310 wOBA was noticeably worse than his .329 xwOBA. A .329 wOBA nonetheless would have been the worst of his profession, however it additionally would have been considerably higher than league common. Lastly, Goldschmidt’s second-half efficiency was vastly superior to his first-half effort. By the All-Star break, he was slashing .230/.291/.373 with an 87 wRC+. From the break onward, he hit .271/.319/.480 with a 120 wRC+.

The Yankees are certainly hoping Goldschmidt seems to be like his second-half self all through the 2025 season. Nonetheless, even his mediocre full-season numbers could be a giant improve over what the Yankees obtained from their first basemen in 2024. Yankees first basemen ranked final in MLB in OPS (.619), second-to-last in wRC+ (76), and twenty sixth in FanGraphs WAR (-1.1). If Goldschmidt can merely repeat his 2024 marketing campaign, the Yankees would get a giant increase over the mix of Anthony Rizzo, Ben Rice, and DJ LeMahieu. That will likely be very true towards left-handed pitching. Goldschmidt slashed .295/.366/.473 with a 134 wRC+ towards lefties this previous season. In the meantime, New York’s offense was considerably worse towards lefties than righties. Goldschmidt must be a giant assist in that division.

On the defensive aspect, Goldschmidt, a four-time Gold Glove winner, will undoubtedly play first base for the Yankees. That can push latest commerce acquisition Cody Bellinger into the outfield. It all the time appeared doubtless that Bellinger would play the outfield in New York, however supervisor Aaron Boone steered earlier this week that first base was nonetheless an possibility. It’s secure to say that possibility is now off the desk.

If the Yankees are nonetheless trying so as to add one other bat, third base may very well be the subsequent avenue they flip to for enchancment. Jazz Chisholm Jr. took over on the sizzling nook after the commerce deadline in 2024, however second base is his pure place. By sliding again to second, he might give the Yankees extra flexibility to hunt an improve within the infield. Some intriguing choices at third base embody free agent Alex Bregman and commerce candidate Nolan Arenado. The Yankees have already expressed curiosity in each gamers.

Including both Bregman or Arenado would doubtless push the crew’s payroll above final yr’s remaining estimate of $303MM (per RosterResource). It might additionally put them above the best tier of the luxurious tax as soon as once more. Though it wouldn’t be stunning to see the Yankees run such a excessive payroll in 2025, it’s price holding in thoughts that even the Steinbrenner’s have their spending limits. Chairman Hal Steinbrenner stated earlier this yr that the crew’s present payroll is “merely not sustainable for us financially.” The truth that the Yankees had been outbid for Juan Soto and that they had been in search of a inexpensive first baseman like Goldschmidt additional means that GM Brian Cashman is working beneath payroll constraints. These constraints might influence how the crew operates for the remainder of the offseason.

Picture courtesy of Imagn.