Paul Goldschmidt to be Yankees First Baseman in 2025

Free agent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has signed a 1-year, $12.5 million contract with the New York Yankees.

Goldschmidt, 37, has spent his entire 14-year MLB career in the NL. He spent 8 seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the past six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

An 8th round draft pick of the D'Backs in 2009, Goldschmidt made his MLB debut in 2011. His breakthrough season came in 2013 when he finished runner up in NL MVP balloting to Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Goldschmidt led the NL in HR (36), RBI (125), SLG (.551), OPS (.962) and OPS + (160) and would win the first of his four Gold Gloves, his first of five Silver Sluggers as well as the first of his seven NL All-Star Team selections. Goldschmidt would finish runner up in NL MVP balloting again in 2015 this time to Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper. In 2017, Goldschmidt would finish 3rd in NL MVP balloting behind winner Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto. 

The D'Backs would trade Goldschmidt to the Cardinals prior to the 2019 season. In 2022, Goldschmidt earned the elusive NL MVP leading the Senior Circuit in SLG (.578), OPS (.981) and OPS + (177) while batting .317 with 35 HR and 115 RBI. 

Goldschmidt's production has fallen off since his MVP season, however. In 2024, Goldschmidt hit a career low .245 with 22 HR and 65 RBI - his worst RBI total since his rookie season. Still, that is infinitely better than how Anthony Rizzo was doing at the plate. But in a lineup with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Volpe along with the newly acquired Cody Bellinger, Goldschmidt has a chance to rebound in 2025.

Goldschmidt enters 2025 having played in 1928 games collecting 2056 hits for a lifetime batting average of .289 with 362 HR and 1187 RBI. He has been a very durable player during his career. Aside from the COVID shortened 2020 season, Goldschmidt has played fewer than 145 games only once in his career. In 2014, Goldschmidt's season came to an end in early August when he fractured his left hand. Barring any bad luck, the Yankees can expect to get a good 150 games out of Goldschmidt in 2025.