The New York Yankees have some serious sluggers on their roster.
Among the most notable is infielder Paul Goldschmidt, who smacked his 384th career home run in the bottom of the first on Saturday.
Yankees’ Paul Goldschmidt Approaches Aaron Judge’s Home Run Total
GettyPaul Goldschmidt smacked his 384th career home runs on Saturday
With 38-year-old Goldschmidt recording his 384th home run this weekend, he is now tied with former MLB All-Star Harold Baines.
They sit at No. 70 among all-time leaders in home runs.
Aaron Judge owns 385 career homers, which means Goldschmidt is just one away from tying with the 34-year-old outfielder, as pointed out by research manager Jeff Quagliata at YES Network (via X).
At the time of this writing, Goldschmidt is slashing .297/.361/.560 with a .921 OPS and 12 home runs through 50 games.
With New York having so many noteworthy players out on the IL, this is the perfect time for him to continue heating his bat at the plate.
Goldschmidt’s MLB Career
GettyPaul Goldschmidt of the New York Yankees has played a long and successful MLB career
The veteran slugger is now playing in his 16th year of Major League Baseball.
His journey in the big leagues began when the Arizona Diamondbacks selected him as the overall pick No. 246 in the eighth round of the 2009 MLB draft.
He made his debut with the franchise in August 2011.
Goldschmidt played for the Diamondbacks for a long eight years.
During that period, he slashed .297/.398/.532 with a .930 OPS and 209 homers through 1,092 games.
In December 2018, Arizona shipped him out to the St. Louis Cardinals.
In return, the Diamondbacks received Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver and Andrew Young.
During his six-year stint with the Cardinals, he slashed .278/.360/.483 with a .843 OPS and 153 home runs through 836 games.
A few years later, in December 2024, he found himself signing a contract with the Yankees.
He signed once again in February of this year.
Goldschmidt is now tied to a one-year deal with the ballclub.
Upon his signing during the offseason, Andrew Simon of MLB.com wrote, “It’s been a highly decorated 15-year career for Goldschmidt, a seven-time All-Star with five Silver Slugger Awards and four Gold Glove Awards at first base, not to mention the 2022 NL MVP Award.”
Where the Yankees Currently Stand
GettyNew York Yankees’ Paul Goldschmidt is nearing Aaron Judge’s career total for home runs
Right now, the Yankees are in the midst of their second game against the Reds.
On Friday night, they pulled off a stunning 5-0 shutout, but if they want to clinch the series, they must keep momentum high throughout the weekend.
Looking at the MLB standings, New York lands in third place, just shy of the Atlanta Braves (47-27) in second and the Los Angeles Dodgers (49-27) in first place.
Of course, this means the Yankees are leading the American League East division.
The Tampa Bay Rays are following close behind, with their overall record of 42-30.
New York is looking like a serious postseason contender once again.
However, that could be stripped away from them rather quickly if they continue hitting the IL or lose traction.
This has been an incredibly rocky season for the Yankees, particularly due to persistent injuries, but it doesn’t have to stay that way.
They’ve continued climbing up in the standings, despite facing a handful of obstacles.
Yankees’ Paul Goldschmidt on Verge of Surpassing Aaron Judge in Key Stat