The New York Yankees almost didn’t make one of, if not their best, offseason moves.
After the Yankees lost Juan Soto in free agency, New York put an emphasis on pitching. The Yankees signed Max Fried and traded for Devin Williams. New York then traded for Cody Bellinger, and one of their last offseason moves was signing Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year, $12.5 million deal.
MLB insider Andy Martino of SNY reports the Yankees nearly passed on signing Goldschmidt.
“It’s true that the Yankees’ post-Juan Soto spree left them at the limits of their willingness to spend,” Martino wrote. “In fact, it was no sure thing that they would stretch for Paul Goldschmidt until folks in baseball operations made a strong case for doing so.
“But that was the offseason budget. Teams almost always leave payroll in reserve for the trade deadline, and the Yankees are always aggressive when they feel they have the chance to win. I would not expect that to change in a year in which a championship is a reachable goal,” Martino added.
Goldschmidt took over for Anthony Rizzo as the Yankees’ starting first baseman and has had a ton of success. Goldschmidt is hitting .338 with 6 home runs and 28 RBIs this season and has been a key reason for the Yankees’ offensive success.
The 37-year-old is a seven-time All-Star and was NL MVP in 2022.
Yankees Manager Impressed by Goldschmidt
Goldschmidt had been a star offensive player for the Yankees this season.
The first baseman has turned back the clock, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone is impressed with Goldschmidt and his bat.
“Getting to see it up close and personal, it’s been really impressive,” Boone said. “He’s been so consistent. He’s given us that really good, tough, consistent at-bat in any situation.”
Not only is Boone impressed with Goldschmidt, but so too is Yankees captain Aaron Judge.
“It’s just impressive,” Judge said. “It shows you the type of player he is and the knowledge he has. His preparation to where he was ready to go from the very first pitch, and he put a great swing on it.”
Goldschmidt has been getting more days off as Ben Rice has been playing at first, but when he is in the lineup, the former MVP has been making the most of his opportunity.
Goldschmidt Embracing Role With Yankees
Although Goldschmidt has been one of the Yankees’ best hitters, he’s still not playing every day.
Instead, when he signed with New York, it was set that he was going to get off days and pinch-hit opportunities. However, Goldschmidt says he likes that and has been embracing his role.
“For most of my career, I was playing every day and knew I wasn’t pinch-hitting,” Goldschmidt said. “Coming here, it’s a little bit of a different role. I’ve just tried to embrace that. It was exciting for something new. I think that makes it a little different, when you understand that you’re going to be called on to pinch-hit or play defense, versus other times when I was maybe playing every single day, and when I got the off-day I was really trying to rest.”
Goldschmidt has helped the Yankees get off to a 35-21 start, which is first in the AL East.
Insider: Yankees Nearly Passed on Signing Star Offseason Addition