ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports this that the Yankees are signing first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year contract. Financial terms are not yet available.
At the end of January, reports surfaced about a possible reunion. The Yankees looked to Goldschmidt as a platoon partner for first baseman/catcher Ben Rice, helping balance a left-handed, heavy lineup.
The Yankees continue rebuilding 2025 roster despite general manager Brian Cashman’s protests
Goldschmidt isn’t the perennial All-Star or MVP candidate he once was, but he can still be a solid option. He produced a .277/.328/.403 batting line in his 534 plate appearances, hitting 10 home runs and 31 doubles. Goldschmidt performed well against left-handed pitching, posting a .336/.411/.570 batting line in 168 at-bats against lefties, hitting seven home runs and 14 doubles.
Signing Goldschmidt fills a need for the Yankees. Rice managed to hit seven home runs against lefties in 2025, but he produced a batting line of .208/.271/.481 in his 119 plate appearances. Goldschmidt is a natural platoon partner and could initially see extra time if the Yankees put Rice behind the plate.
However, bringing back Goldschmidt will not address the criticism leveled at Brian Cashman. He has adamantly denied that he has the same roster he has in 2025, despite his biggest outside acquisitions being pitchers Ryan Weathers and Angel Chivilli.
“It’s not the same roster. I would beg to differ on that. We have a number of players who return from the IL at some point who are key players, Gerrit Cole obviously being one of them. But we’ve had a number of second-half additions who got their feet wet with the Yankees, some with success, some with failure,” Cashman said in January.
While Goldschmidt should help the Yankees, it’s hard to argue that Cashman has made any meaningful changes to their 2025 roster.
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