Yankees fans wanted Juan Soto for Christmas this year. Instead, New York gifted them a decent starting pitcher, an underwhelming centerfielder and, worst of all, an aging first baseman in Paul Goldschmidt.
The 37-year-old Goldschmidt is a player in decline. After leading the National League in OPS+ in 2022, his output dropped to a decent 120 in 2023 and then sank to 98 last season.
That downward trend makes sense and seems unstoppable after a look under Goldschmidt’s proverbial hood. While he was still in the MLB’s top eight percent in terms of hard-hit balls last year, his ability to barrel up the ball is decreasing (from 12.0 barrel% in 2023 to 10.7 in 2024).
What’s the result? His batting average is plummeting, and his GIDPs are skyrocketing.
Goldschmidt hit a robust .317 in his 2022 MVP season. However, he followed that up with consecutive .268 and .245 performances in the next two campaigns. In 2022, he grounded into just seven double plays, but that number leaped to 12 in 2023 and 20 in 2024.
So, the Yankees could easily have three of the top 10 GIDP victims in MLB in 2025, with Aaron Judge (tied for No. 3 in 2024 with 22), Goldschmidt (No. 4 last season), and Giancarlo Stanton, who posted 17 GIDPs in 194 fewer plate appearances than Goldschmidt last year.
Goldschmidt’s strikeout rate is also trending way up. After posting a career-low 18.6 K% in 2019, his strikeout rate has increased each year, reaching a career-high 26.5 in 2024. That number is up by 2.9 from 2023, and another increase like that would have him striking out in nearly 30 percent of his at-bats.
Signed to just a one-year deal, Goldschmidt is likely a stopgap to get the Yankees to a run at Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the end of the 2025 season. However, the Bombers could have gotten more production by slotting Cody Bellinger into the first base role or developing prospect Ben Rice into a potential trading piece.