The Yankees have been busy throughout the December. The reigning AL champions added Cody Bellinger, Fernando Cruz, Max Fried, and Devin Williams before the start of 2025. Now, add another former NL MVP to that mix. Paul Goldschmidt is reportedly joining the Yankees on a one-year deal.
A Look at Goldschmidt
The Cardinals acquired first baseman Paul Goldschmidt after the 2018 season, ending his tenure as a Diamondback. As a whole, his career in St. Louis was strong. However, the last two seasons were not what baseball fans have been accustomed to from Goldschmidt.
Goldschmidt hit 30+ home runs in his first three full seasons (not counting 2020) with the Cardinals. His big year came in 2022, when he hit 35 home runs. 115 RBI, and a .982 OPS. Those numbers delivered Goldschmidt his first and only MVP to date.
But since then, Goldschmidt’s recorded the two lowest slugging percentages of his career in 2023 and 2024. His .414 SLG in 2024 was easily the worst of his career. What more, Goldschmidt became a more aggressive hitter, chasing at 29.5% of the pitches out of the zone, the worst rate of his career. He also walked a career-low 7.2% BB%.
In total, Goldschmidt hit .245/.302/.414 (.716 OPS) with 22 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Goldschmidt performed better over the second half, with nine home runs, 29 extra-base hits, and a .799 OPS over 250 plate appearances.
The 37-year-old continued to hit the ball hard (49.6%) in 2024, well above the league-average. However, Goldschmidt often didn’t get underneath the ball enough to continuously hit home runs. Rather, he rolled over more than usual; both his GB% (43.7%) and Topped% (29.0%) rates were his highest in a full year since 2017.
The new Yankee had above-average bat speed (72.5 MPH) per Statcast.
Goldschmidt has been an able hitter against fastballs throughout his career and that’s remained mostly true over the last two seasons. He’s seen a slight increase in whiffs off the heat over from 2023 onward but a significant drop in SLG, unsurprising given his total numbers over the last two campaigns.
Per reports, the Yankees signed Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal worth $12.5MM.
Analysis
The Yankees opted not to bring back Anthony Rizzo, who struggled to stay healthy and put together consistent seasons in 2023-24, back for 2025. A lot of Rizzo’s offensive woes could be tied to his healthy, particularly after his concussion two years ago. Now, the Yankees will bring in another former MVP, after adding 1B/OF Cody Bellinger just days earlier.
It’s a worthwhile gamble for the Yankees, who don’t commit term to Goldschmidt and get a first baseman without giving up draft pick compensation. As noted when Christian Walker signed with the Astros, the Yankees reportedly did not want to give up two more 2025 MLB Draft picks for a qualified first baseman like the new Astro or Pete Alonso.
The Yankees have to give up two picks — their second and fifth-highest picks — for signing Max Fried.
Obviously, there will be questions whether Goldschimdt is the right fit here. One, he’s not a left-handed hitter like Rizzo, although that isn’t a problem. No lineup should be left-handed or right-handed hitting heavy, and Goldschmidt gives the team a nice mix of both, with Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Giancarlo Stanton, and the newly-acquired Bellinger.
Second, can Goldschmidt post a big season at the age of 37? The offensive decline is concerning, especially since it’s just harder to generate bat speed and power, and play at a high level as wear-and-tear builds.
There have been only 19 instances from 2004-24 where a hitter cracked 30+ home runs at age 37 or older. Out of those 19, four were from David Ortiz and three from Nelson Cruz.
The good news for the Yankees is that several of his metrics were still fine. And, Goldschmidt produced after the All-Star break, shaking off the doldrums of the first half.