Paul Goldschmidt has made his position clear: he isn’t ready to stop. The Yankees, meanwhile, are staring at a first-base and DH picture that already feels crowded, left-handed and complicated.
New York’s offseason conversation started with the offense after a Division Series sweep by Tampa Bay, when the Yankees hit just .130 in three games. But the easiest place to look for a fix isn’t obvious, because first base and designated hitter already have pieces in place.
Ben Rice broke out with a .264/.363/.534 line and 41 home runs in 154 games, Giancarlo Stanton is expected to take a semi-regular DH role again, and Luis Garcia Jr., acquired at the trade deadline, is under contract through 2027 and has split time between first and DH. There has also been talk of Aaron Judge spending time at first base in 2027 after missing most of the year and all of the postseason.
That’s a lot of bats for not many spots. It also creates a very left-handed problem.
Rice bats left. Garcia bats left.
Against left-handed starters and the lefty relievers who usually follow, that kind of setup needs a right-handed answer somewhere in the mix.
Goldschmidt may be that answer, if the Yankees decide to keep him around.
The 39-year-old is a free agent once the World Series ends, and he has no interest in walking away from the game. After the Yankees’ season ended with a 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 7, Goldschmidt was asked whether that was his final game.
“I’d like to continue playing, so we’ll see if that opportunity happens,” Goldschmidt said.
He was even more direct in his comments to the New York Post.
“I love competing,” Goldschmidt said.
That desire comes after a season that showed both sides of his value. Goldschmidt hit .252/.313/.452 with 18 home runs, 52 RBIs and a 111 OPS+ in 105 games.
He was excellent early, carrying an .867 OPS through June, before cooling off and losing playing time to Garcia. He still held his own at first base and won the 2026 MLBPA Heart & Hustle Award.
The case against bringing him back is pretty obvious. The Yankees already have a crowded first-base/DH lane, and Goldschmidt’s role shrank as the year went on. FanSided’s Adam Weinrib argued this month that the team should move on, writing, “The Yankees value flexibility and probably don’t want to roster a lefties-only first base backup,” Weinrib wrote.
Then there’s the postseason, where Goldschmidt went 0-for-6. Against right-handed pitching, he hit only .213 with a .590 OPS and struck out 26.9% of the time.
But the split that matters most is the one that makes this decision so tricky. Against left-handers, Goldschmidt hit .299/.393/.573 with a .966 OPS.
He homered 11 times in 183 plate appearances, or once every 16.6 trips. Against right-handers, he hit seven homers in 197 plate appearances, one every 28.1.
The difference was massive. Sixty-one percent of his home runs came in 48% of his plate appearances, and his OPS against lefties was 376 points higher than his mark against righties. At a $4 million salary, the Yankees paid about $222,000 per home run.
That’s the version of Goldschmidt New York would be buying if the reunion happens: a right-handed bat who can punish lefties, play first base and give the lineup a different look when Rice and Garcia are in the picture. It would be a defined job, not a full-time one.
Goldschmidt’s resume still carries weight, too. He has 390 home runs, 2,277 hits, four Gold Gloves and the 2022 NL MVP.
What he doesn’t have is a World Series ring. The Yankees, of course, have not won one since 2009.
For now, the Yankees have not made an offer, and no price for 2027 has been set. Goldschmidt will hit the market after the World Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Rays ends. A return would likely mean a narrower role: starts against left-handed starters, late-inning pinch-hitting and defense at first base.
Other teams could offer him more at-bats, and a reunion with St. Louis, where he won his MVP, has also been floated.
But the fit in New York is easy to see. The Yankees need right-handed thunder.
Goldschmidt still has a very specific way of providing it.
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