The Yankees have agreed to a one-year, $12.5 million contract Paul Goldschmidt. YES Network’s Jack Curry was first to report that the two sides were in agreement, while USA Today’s Bob Nightengale added the dollar value of the contract for the Excel Sports Management client. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com points out that it is a one-year deal with no options attached.

Goldschmidt, 37, was a free agent for the first time in his career. He was drafted by the Diamondbacks in 2009 and made his big league debut with Arizona in 2011. After a strong start to his MLB career, he signed a contract extension with the D-Backs that kept him under team control through the 2019 season. After joining the Cardinals in 2019, he signed another contract extension through 2024. During these years with Arizona and St. Louis, Goldschmidt was one of the best players in baseball. He made seven All-Star teams, won five Silver Sluggers and earned 2022 NL MVP honors. In 1928 career games, he slashed .289/.381/.510 with 362 home runs and a 139 wRC+.

Since his 2022 MVP season, Goldschmidt has taken a step back. His .810 OPS and 122 wRC+ in 2023 were beyond great, while his .716 OPS and 100 wRC+ in 2024 were just league average. That’s not an encouraging trend for a first baseman in his late thirties. However, Goldschmidt’s underlying numbers for 2024 are somewhat more promising. His .308 batting average on balls in play was well below his career average of .343. Likewise, his .310 wOBA was significantly worse than his .329 xwOBA. A wOBA of .329 would still be the worst of his career, but is well above league average. Ultimately, Goldschmidt’s second-half performance was far superior to his first-half performance. During the All-Star break, he slashed .230/.291/.373 with an 87 wRC+. From the break, he hit .271/.319/.480 with a 120 wRC+.

The Yankees are certainly hoping Goldschmidt looks like his second-half self throughout the 2025 season. However, even his mediocre full-season numbers would be a big improvement over what the Yankees got from their first basemen in 2024. The Yankees’ first basemen ranked last in the MLB in OPS (.619), second-to-last in wRC+ (76). and 26th in FanGraphs WAR (-1.1). If Goldschmidt can simply repeat his 2024 season, the Yankees would get a big boost over that combination Anthony Rizzo, Ben RiceAnd DJ LeMahieu. This is especially true for left-handers. Goldschmidt hit .295/.366/.473 with a 134 wRC+ against lefties last season. Meanwhile, New York’s offense was noticeably worse against lefties than it was against righties. Goldschmidt should be of great help in this regard.

On the defensive side, Goldschmidt, a four-time Gold Glove winner, will undoubtedly play first base for the Yankees. This will drive the latest trading acquisition Cody Bellinger into the outfield. It always seemed likely that Bellinger would play the outfield in New York, but manager Aaron Boone suggested earlier this week That first base was still an option. It’s safe to say that option is now off the table.

More to come…