About an hour after the Yankees’ season came to a sudden end, Paul Goldschmidt didn’t have any concrete answers about his future.
But the 38-year-old first baseman did acknowledge this:
“I think I’d like to continue playing,” Goldschmidt said after the Yankees’ 5-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 4 of the ALDS.
Goldschmidt is set to become a free agent after spending the 2025 season, his first with the Yankees, on a one-year contract.
The seven-time All-Star achieved a .274 batting average along with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs, resulting in a .731 OPS over 145 games. He was also a highly regarded veteran presence within the Yankees’ clubhouse.
But after a red-hot start, Goldschmid’s production declined, and so did his playing time.
Goldschmidt batted .338 with an .889 OPS over the season’s first two months, then hit .226 with a .610 OPS from June 1 on.
By the end of the season, the right-handed Goldschmidt found himself in a full platoon arrangement at first base, mainly starting against left-handed pitchers, while the left-handed Ben Rice took on right-handed pitchers.
Rice started five of the Yankees’ seven playoff games.
“Just being honest, this game’s pretty easy: Go out there and perform, you’re gonna play,” Goldschmidt said.
“Teammates showed improvement in the second half and earned their chances, so I have no excuses. I wish I could have played better. I put forth my best effort, but the fact that I didn’t play as much as earlier in my career is on me.”
Even prior to signing Goldschmidt for a one-year, $12.5 million deal last winter, general manager Brian Cashman spoke highly of the untapped potential of Rice, who was unfamiliar offensively at that time.
Translating that potential into performance, Rice, a former catcher who still occasionally plays behind the plate, posted a .255 average with 26 home runs and an .836 OPS across 138 games this season.
At 26, Rice produced numbers against left-handed pitchers — a .208 average and .752 OPS — which were noticeably weaker compared to his performance against right-handed pitchers. However, the Yankees might consider keeping Rice in a more consistent first base role next season.
“What he did was incredible,” Goldschmidt said of Rice.
“He hit from start to finish for us this year, was amazing, but I think the tough thing for him was not playing a position those first couple of months, really, outside of spot starts here and there, and then by the end of the year, he was playing great defense at catcher and great at first base. I think the growth there continues.”
Still, Goldschmidt provided value to the Yankees, even in a part-time role down the stretch.
Goldschmidt’s .336 average against left-handed pitchers was the seventh best mark among MLB hitters, while his .981 OPS against lefties ranked fourth — behind only Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh and Cody Bellinger.
He went 4-for-9 (.444) in the postseason, which included hits against tough lefties in Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman during the Yankees’ Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox.
And the four-time Gold Glove winner remained steady at first base, where he saved an untold number of errors from Yankee infielders with his picks on errant throws.
Whether or not a return to the Yankees is conceivable could depend on whether Goldschmidt receives an opportunity for more playing time elsewhere.
“I still love playing,” Goldschmidt said. “I still have fun out there. I still want to try to go win. I love to compete, so we’ll have to see what happens, but thankful for my time here. I don’t know what the future’s gonna hold.”
Goldschmidt is a career .288 hitter with 372 home runs over 15 MLB seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals and Yankees.
He was the National League MVP with the Cardinals in 2022, which is the last season he was named an All-Star.
Goldschmidt is one of several notable Yankees who can become a free agent, along with Bellinger and fellow outfielder Trent Grisham, as well as relievers Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.
“Outside of us losing, the experience was great,” Goldschmidt said. “Getting an opportunity to play for the Yankees, one of the premier sports organizations in all the world, and getting to play with the guys in this locker room, I can’t say enough positive things about them.”
