Paul Goldschmidt came off the board just before 2026 Spring Training. The Yankees have reportedly re-signed Goldschmidt, bringing back the veteran first baseman. While his offensive numbers were down in 2025, Goldschmidt continued to beat up on lefties and made consistent contact at the plate.
A Look at Goldschmidt
The Yankees signed 1B Paul Goldschmidt to help fill a seemingly open spot at first base last season. While Goldschmidt wasn’t the home run hitter we’ve seen over the years, the now-36-year-old provided value for the Yankees.
This past season, Goldschmidt slashed .274/.328/.403 (.731 OPS) with 10 home runs and 42 extra-base hits across 146 games. Even though he barreled up balls at a rate above the league median, that home run total was the lowest he ever had in a full 162-game season.
His .316 wOBA ranked 140th out of the 242 players with at least 350 plate appearances last season.
This is a different kind of Goldschmidt, at least compared to the player who won the 2022 NL MVP and was a phenomenal home run hitter in the 2010s. His bat speed is fine, and in fact, it ticked up a bit, from an average of 72.5 MPH to 72.6 MPH between 2024 and 2025.
However, the Goldschmidt that we’ve seen of late is content with being a straight contact hitter. More of seeing the ball through, and more of a willingness to go the other way with the field, rather than to the pull side. Looking at his numbers, his swing-and-miss rates on breaking balls, offspeed pitches, and fastballs all declined between 2024 and 2025.
Getting back to batted-ball direction, Goldschmidt had an opposite field rate of over 30%, the third-highest rate for the first baseman in all seasons dating back to 2018.
Defensively, Goldschmidt played 139 games at first base last season.
Per ESPN, the Yankees will re-sign Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal.
Analysis
It’s an interesting move, albeit one that does make sense when looking at the left/right slant of the Yankees’ lineup.
Even though Yankee Stadium is more favorable to left-handed hitters, the Yanks have a lot of left-handed hitters. Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Austin Wells, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ryan McMahon, and Ben Rice (get to him in a minute) are all lefties. The right-handers on this team include Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Goldschmidt (Volpe, who will likely start 2026 on the IL, is a righty, too).
Having Goldschmidt around will give Aaron Boone options with regard to lineup construction. The 36-year-old crushed left-handed pitching last season, as Goldschmidt slashed .336/.411/.570 with seven home runs and 21 extra-base hits. But against righties, Goldschmidt posted a .618 OPS.
That could mean Ben Rice, who looked like the heir apparent at first heading into 2026, could see fewer at-bats against left-handed pitching. Rice shouldn’t be going anywhere, and the good news from 2025 is that Rice was able to work in starts as a catcher to tandem with Wells.
Check out more of our MLB coverage.