CLEVELAND — When the Yankees signed Paul Goldschmidt over the winter, the plan was modest. He would be a veteran bench bat, a part-time first baseman brought in on a bargain deal. Three months into the season, that plan looks almost laughable. At 38, Goldschmidt is not just contributing for the Yankees. He is turning back the clock.
The latest reminder came Monday night in Cleveland, where the former MVP once again sat at the center of a Yankees win, proving that the player many assumed was past his prime still has plenty left in the tank.
Another night, another decisive contribution
Goldschmidt set the tone early in the Yankees’ 7-5, 10-inning victory over the Guardians. In the first inning, he jumped on a pitch from Cleveland starter Gavin Williams and drove a two-run homer into the left-field seats to put New York ahead.
He was not done. With the Yankees trailing in the eighth, Goldschmidt delivered an RBI on a fielder’s choice to tie the score at 5-5 and keep the comeback alive. The night finished a 1-for-4 line with the homer and an extra RBI, but the impact far outweighed the box score. Goldschmidt has now hit safely in 11 of his past 12 games, batting .314 with three home runs, 13 RBIs and a stolen base over that stretch.
That blast carried historic weight too. It was Goldschmidt’s 380th career home run, moving him past Hall of Famers Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda and into a tie with Manny Machado for 76th on the all-time list.
A bargain that keeps paying off
Goldschmidt is doing all of this on a one-year deal worth just $4 million, a price that now looks like one of the best values in baseball.
The opportunity grew out of necessity. Goldschmidt began seeing consistent at-bats when Ben Rice shifted into a larger role, and injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and Jasson Dominguez opened the door even wider. He has seized it completely, starting 16 straight games, mostly at first base while Rice handles most of his starts at designated hitter. A team that expected him to ride the bench would be significantly worse without him.
His recent surge has been relentless. Goldschmidt is 34-for-108, a .315 clip, with seven home runs over his last 31 games. Since May 3, when his everyday role solidified, he has hit .313 with a .932 OPS, six homers and 20 RBIs across 28 games, good for a scorching 161 wRC+.
The numbers say it is no fluke
Skeptics might wonder whether a 38-year-old can keep this up, but the underlying data backs the Yankees veteran. After his Monday homer, Goldschmidt pushed his season line to roughly .278/.356/.534 with a .896 OPS and a 150 wRC+, marking him as one of the most productive hitters on the roster.
The peripherals are even more convincing. Goldschmidt is barreling the ball at an elite rate, with a 14.5 percent barrel rate and a 48.7 percent hard-hit rate, both well above league average. His expected statistics, including a .407 expected weighted on-base average and a .547 expected slugging mark, suggest his results are fully earned rather than lucky. Among first basemen with at least 100 plate appearances, his wRC+ ranks among the best at the position.
An All-Star case taking shape
All of this has nudged Goldschmidt into a conversation no one expected entering the year. The veteran who figured his July might be free is now a legitimate dark horse for the American League All-Star roster.
It would be a fitting twist for a player of his pedigree. Goldschmidt is a perennial All-Star with four Gold Gloves, five Silver Sluggers, and the 2022 National League MVP award on his resume. Many believe he is on a Hall of Fame track, and 2026 may be one of his final chances to suit up for the Summer Classic. He is not a lock, given the depth at first base, but his trajectory is pointing in the right direction.
For the Yankees, the All-Star talk is a bonus. What matters more is that Goldschmidt has stabilized the lineup during a brutal injury stretch, particularly with Aaron Judge sidelined. After the win improved the Yankees to 39-26, Goldschmidt made clear this is the kind of team effort the club will lean on going forward.
“We’re definitely going to have to win more games kind of like this, with a little bit more of a team effort,” Goldschmidt said. “The guy is probably the best hitter on the planet. He wins games for us by himself at times. We may have to do some things a little different like tonight, moving runners, stealing bases, stuff we’re already trying to do.”
That selfless tone fits the season Goldschmidt is having. The Yankees brought him in as an insurance policy and instead found a cornerstone. At an age when most players fade, he keeps showing the Yankees he still has plenty left, and the timing could not be better.
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