NEW YORK — The Yankees spent weeks hunting for the right bench bat this winter. They talked to multiple free agents. They kicked tires on familiar names. They explored options that ranged from Gold Glove defenders to former fan favorites.
In the end, Brian Cashman circled back to the guy who was already in the building last year. Paul Goldschmidt agreed to a one-year deal on Feb. 6, returning to the Bronx on what multiple reports peg at around $4 million. But the path to that signing was far more winding than the final result suggests.
Before Goldschmidt put pen to paper, the Yankees had active conversations with at least three other candidates: first baseman Ty France, outfielder Austin Slater and former Yankee Miguel Andujar. Each brought something different to the table. Each came with a reason the front office ultimately passed.
Ty France offered the glove but not the bat
Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reported on the Fireside Yankees podcast that the Yankees held discussions with France as recently as Feb. 4. The interest made sense on paper. France won the 2025 American League Gold Glove at first base, posting a league-best plus-10 outs above average across 124 games split between the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays.
His defense was elite. His bat was another story. France slashed .257/.320/.360 with just seven home runs and 52 RBI in 544 plate appearances last season. His 92 wRC+ sat below the MLB average. Against left-handed pitching, his OPS over the last two seasons came in at just .680, though his expected OPS in those matchups reached .771.
The Yankees valued France’s underlying metrics more than his raw results. They saw a right-handed hitter who could play premium defense at first base and potentially get unlucky against lefties. But the fit never quite materialized into a deal.
Slater drew an offer that went nowhere
The Yankees were more aggressive with Austin Slater. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that New York submitted a one-year, $1 million offer to the 33-year-old outfielder. Brendan Kuty of The Athletic confirmed the club had made him a major league offer earlier in the offseason.
Slater carried a career 119 wRC+ against left-handed pitching into the conversation. That is exactly the profile the Yankees needed. Their lineup tilts heavily left-handed, with Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Spencer Jones, Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm all hitting from that side. Aaron Judge is the only right-handed regular in the everyday lineup.
The problem was Slater’s track record in pinstripes. The Yankees acquired him from the Chicago White Sox at the 2025 trade deadline. He went 3-for-25 with a .120 batting average in 14 games before a hamstring injury ended his season. He was left off the postseason roster entirely. His underlying numbers against lefties last year, a .283 expected batting average and .581 expected slugging percentage, suggested poor luck. But the results were brutal, and the offer apparently did not convince him to come back.
Why Andujar never got a phone call
Miguel Andujar was the name that generated the most fan excitement. The former Yankee broke out in 2018 and finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He resurfaced in 2025 with an impressive season that included a .318/.352/.470 slash line and an .822 OPS overall.
Against left-handed pitching, Andujar was sensational. He hit .389 with a .987 OPS in 90 at-bats against southpaws, striking out just 16 times. On pure offensive terms, he was the best platoon option on the market.
The Yankees never called. Phillips confirmed on the Fireside Yankees podcast that the front office had zero conversations with Andujar.
“From what I was told, there weren’t any conversations with him,” Phillips said. “While the bat would have been great… he’s still a poor defender… that was never a real consideration for the Yankees.”
Andujar’s Fielding Run Value sat in the 18th percentile last season. The Yankees already have Amed Rosario at third base as a below-average defender. Adding another defensive liability to the bench was a line Cashman refused to cross.
Goldschmidt checks the boxes that matter most
With France unsigned, Slater unresponsive and Andujar eliminated, the Yankees landed where many expected them to all along. Goldschmidt’s one-year deal brings back a seven-time All-Star and former NL MVP on a modest salary to fill a targeted role.
The 38-year-old hit .274/.328/.403 with 10 home runs in 534 plate appearances for the Yankees in 2025. Those overall numbers were ordinary. His splits were not. Against left-handed pitching, Goldschmidt posted a .336/.411/.570 line with seven home runs and a .981 OPS, ranking fourth among qualified MLB hitters in that split. His career OPS against lefties sits at 1.007.
The role is clear. Ben Rice is the everyday first baseman after hitting .255/.337/.499 with 26 home runs in his breakout 2025 season. Goldschmidt slots in against lefties, with Rice shifting to catcher or designated hitter on those days. In an American League loaded with elite left-handed starters like Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, Framber Valdez and Cole Ragans, that platoon weapon carries real value.
Goldschmidt also turned down more money from other teams, including the Diamondbacks, to return to the Bronx. His willingness to accept a reduced role and a smaller paycheck speaks to the clubhouse dynamic the Yankees are building.
“It’s not the same roster,” Cashman said in January. “We have some players at some point returning from the IL that are important players, Gerrit Cole being obviously one of them. But we’ve had some additions from the second half that got their feet wet with the Yankees, some with success, some with failures.”
With Goldschmidt back, 24 of the 26 players from the Yankees’ ALDS roster return for 2026. The bench now features Goldschmidt, Rosario, backup catcher J.C. Escarra and one final spot that could go to Oswaldo Cabrera or Jasson Dominguez. Heyman reported that Dominguez is likely headed to Triple-A to start the season, a decision that now feels all but certain with the Goldschmidt signing in place.
The search was thorough. France, Slater and Andujar each represented a different kind of solution. But Goldschmidt, with his bat against lefties, his glove at first base and his presence in the clubhouse, turned out to be the answer the Yankees wanted all along.
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