With the New York Yankees looking for a veteran first baseman, former National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt might have a good connection to land the job.
The veteran is coming off the worst season of his career, but he is a steady glove and has a proven track record that the Yankees like.
He could be the “bounce-back player” that fits the Yankees’ needs at first.
He also has an “in” with the team captain.
Goldschmidt won his NL MVP in 2022, the same year that Yankees’ captain Aaron Judge hit a franchise-record 62 homers and won the MVP for the American League. The two connected while accepting their awards at the annual BBWAA dinner in New York City.
That led to an offseason workout together, MLB.com’s John Denton reported.
“I’m just a big fan of his, and he’s one of the best hitters on the planet, so I was wanting to learn from him,” Goldschmidt told Denton. “Judge is one of the best people around, too, because everyone that’s ever played with him talks so highly about him.”
Goldschmidt drove from Jupiter to Tampa to work out and have lunch with Judge. They hit in the batting cage for a couple of hours and talked about their approaches against different pitchers.
Goldschmidt, 37, is coming off a down year in 2024, be he did post a .799 OPS in the second half (62 games) following a .664 mark in the first half (92 games) with the St. Louis Cardinals.
According to Baseball Savant, Goldschmidt has good exit velocity, hitting nearly half of his batted balls over 95 mph or harder. He is considered a middle-of-the-pack defender now, but that would be an upgrade for the Yankees compared to what they had in 2024.
Goldschmidt has emerged as a good fit for the Yankees as the offseason has evolved.
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