The New York Yankees have announced the signing of seven-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove Award winner, and 2022 National League Most Valuable Player, Paul Goldschmidt, to a one-year Major League contract.
Goldschmidt, 37, batted .245 (147-for-599) with 70 runs, 33 doubles, 1 triple, 22 home runs, 65 RBIs, 47 walks, and 11 stolen bases in 154 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024. In his final 44 games of the season, he improved his performance, hitting .292/.337/.497 (47-for-161) with 15 runs, 16 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 22 RBIs, and 12 walks. Among Major League first basemen in 2024, Goldschmidt ranked third in games played (150) and sixth in fielding percentage (.996, with 5 errors in 1,323 total chances). Notably, he excelled against left-handed pitching, batting .295/.366/.473 (43-for-146) with 11 doubles, 5 home runs, and 16 walks.
Over 14 Major League seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2011-18) and St. Louis Cardinals (2019-24), Goldschmidt has accumulated a .289/.381/.510 (2,056-for-7,119) slash line with 1,204 runs, 446 doubles, 23 triples, 362 home runs, 1,187 RBIs, 1,050 walks, and 169 stolen bases in 1,928 career games. He has made six postseason appearances (2011, 2017, 2019-22), batting .261/.333/.576 (24-for-92) with 13 runs, 5 doubles, 8 home runs, 16 RBIs, and 8 walks in 23 playoff games.
Since his first full Major League season in 2012, Goldschmidt has led the Majors in runs batted in (1,161), go-ahead RBIs (307), and games played (1,880). He ranks second in runs scored (1,176), total bases (3,560), times on base (3,096), doubles (437), and extra-base hits (813). Additionally, he ranks third in hits (2,017) and game-winning RBIs (139), tied for third in walks (1,030), fourth in home runs (354), fifth in WAR among position players (55.8, according to FanGraphs), seventh in on-base percentage (.382), and 10th in OPS (.894).
Goldschmidt has demonstrated remarkable durability, appearing in at least 150 games in each of the last nine non-shortened seasons (2015-19, 2021-24). He is the only player in the Majors to achieve this feat since 2015. Moreover, he has played in at least 145 games in 11 of his last 12 non-shortened seasons (2012-13, 2015-19, 2021-24), the most by any Major League player since 2012.
The seven-time All-Star (2013-18, 2022) has hit at least 20 home runs in 11 seasons (2012-13, 2015-19, 2021-24), tying him with Giancarlo Stanton for the most 20-home run seasons since 2012. His seven 30-home run seasons (2013, 2015, 2017-19, 2021-22) since 2013 are also tied for the most in the Majors over that span. Goldschmidt’s 362 career home runs rank third among active players, trailing only Stanton (429) and Mike Trout (378).
Throughout his career, Goldschmidt has excelled against left-handed pitchers, posting a .323/.423/.586 (530-for-1,643) slash line with 111 doubles, 9 triples, 101 home runs, and 289 walks. Since 1974, among players with at least 750 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, he ranks seventh in OPS (1.009), eighth in on-base percentage, and ninth in slugging percentage.
With runners in scoring position, he has hit .295/.421/.507 (496-for-1,679) with 103 doubles, 9 triples, 78 home runs, 760 RBIs, 393 walks, and 55 sacrifice flies.
Goldschmidt has finished in the top three in National League MVP voting four times and in the top 10 six times (first in 2022, second in 2013 and 2015, third in 2017, and sixth in 2018 and 2021). He won the MVP award in 2022 after batting .317/.404/.578 (178-for-561) with 106 runs, 41 doubles, 35 home runs, 115 RBIs, and 79 walks in 151 games with the Cardinals. He has also won the National League Hank Aaron Award twice (2013, 2022) and has five Silver Slugger Awards at first base (2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022), the most by a first baseman since the award’s inception in 1980.
A four-time Gold Glove Award winner (2013, 2015, 2017, 2021), Goldschmidt boasts a career .997 fielding percentage (54 errors in 16,788 total chances) in 1,845 career games at first base, the highest among Major League first basemen since 2011 (minimum 650 games).
Goldschmidt has also represented Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, winning a Gold Medal in 2017 and a Silver Medal in 2023.
The Wilmington, Delaware native was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the eighth round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of Texas State University. He was acquired by the Cardinals from the Diamondbacks in a trade involving C Carson Kelly, RHP Luke Weaver, INF Andy Young, and a 2019 competitive balance draft pick on December 5, 2018.
