Before the start of the season, many accused the New York Yankees of “running it back” with pretty much the same roster as last season. That includes 38-year-old Paul Goldschmidt, who is currently the 12th-oldest active player in the entire league. The Yankees re-signed the future Hall of Famer to another one-year deal in the offseason. But unlike last season, “Goldy” is no longer the starting first baseman for New York, with Ben Rice claiming the role after a spectacular 2025 campaign.
Paul Goldschmidt Is Thriving in a Platoon Role for Yankees
That doesn’t mean Goldschmidt isn’t providing the Yankees with any value, though; the Yankees signed him with the intent of playing him against left-handed pitching, and he has rewarded them for it. In 57 plate appearances against left-handers, Goldschmidt is hitting .340/.456/.723 (1.180 OPS) with 4 home runs and 4 doubles. In contrast, his OPS against righties is just .602. Clearly, Goldschmidt has been a perfect fit in his new platoon role with the Yankees.
Vet Stepping Up
With Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Domínguez both on the injured list, there’ve been more opportunities for some of the Yankees’ non-starters to see some action. That includes Goldschmidt, who is certainly taking advantage of the chance: over his last 15 games, he’s hitting .321 with a .985 OPS and 6 extra-base hits.
It’s not just on the offensive side of the ball where Goldschmidt is still making an impact, too. According to Baseball Savant, Goldschmidt’s 2 outs above average are tied for 7th (with Willson Contreras) out of all Major League first basemen. Of course, the man has four Gold Gloves to his name, so it’s not too much of a surprise that he’s still got it at (almost) 40 years old.
One Last Shot
With a career brWAR of 64.7, 378 home runs, and 2217 hits after Friday night’s win against the Athletics, Goldschmidt is almost a shoo-in for Cooperstown once he hangs up the cleats. He also just surpassed 2000 career strikeouts, giving him the 9th-most of all time. Strikeouts obviously aren’t a positive stat for hitters, but the fact remains that playing in enough games even to reach 2000 K’s is impressive in itself.
In addition to those four Gold Gloves, he has 7 All-Star appearances and an NL MVP (plus two separate 2nd-place finishes); but, like his aging teammates in Stanton, Aaron Judge, and Gerrit Cole, the one piece of hardware that he still doesn’t have is the ever-elusive World Series ring. Out of all the teams that Goldschmidt has been on, this one probably has the best chance to earn him a ring. Not only are the Yankees one of the AL’s best teams, but they have a plethora of players who know that the clock is ticking on their championship window. If Goldschmidt and the Yankees somehow win a ring, then it would be the cherry on top of a spectacular career for one of baseball’s best and most versatile first basemen of all time.
Long Way to Go
It’s still May, though, so a lot has to happen before we can even think about the postseason. But regardless, it’s been extremely impressive how well Paul Goldschmidt is playing for the Yankees this year, especially considering his age. In fact, he has already practically matched his brWAR from last season (1.1) in less than a quarter of the time. Even though he’s been relegated to starting just once or twice a week, the 38-year-old is looking like a prime version of himself when he steps into the box.
Main Photo Credits: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
