The New York Yankees and free agent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt have come to terms on a 1 year, $12.5M contract pending a physical.
Goldschmidt fills a hole at 1st base for New York who appear ready to move on from Anthony Rizzo, but not yet prepared to give Ben Rice an everyday role at the position. The 2022 NL MVP heads to the Bronx following a 14 year MLB career split between the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals.
Across 599 at bats in 2024, Goldschmidt hit .245 with 22 HRs, 70 runs scored, and 65 RBIs. Not including the pandemic shortened 2020 campaign, those figures are a stark drop off from his usual production levels, as he’s averaged a .289 BA, 30 HRs, 100 RBIs, and 101 runs per 162 game schedule since breaking into the big leagues back in 2011.
Despite being in the Major Leagues for nearly a decade and a half, 2024 represents the first time Goldschmidt has reached free agency in his career. His signing continues a busy offseason for New York who appear content to spend the money they had earmarked for Juan Soto in a variety of other ways this winter.
The former Cardinals slugger became expandable by St. Louis when the club opted to move on from some of their veteran mainstays after missing the postseason for the 2nd straight year. Fellow vet Nolan Arenado has been linked to a variety of clubs this offseason, and reportedly blocked a deal which would have seen him, along with cash, sent to Houston earlier this week.
Goldschmidt now joins a potent Yankees lineup which already features the likes of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and the recently acquired Cody Bellinger.
Although New York has been retooling their roster at a feverish pace, they remain in the mix for several other free agents, including Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki.
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.