Good morning all. We hope that you have a relaxing Saturday ahead of you!
There’s no sense beating around the bush on what the main topic of discussion is in Yankeeland at the moment, so we’ll just let you have at it. The Yankees re-signed Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year contract. It’s not as big as the one he signed with New York last offseason and indeed will only be worth as much as $5 million — comparative chump change for the Bombers.
I offered some commentary on the Yankees’ “run it back” approach in the linked breaking news item but I’ll ponder on Goldschmidt in particular a bit more. It is admittedly a low bar for him to clear to be a productive bench player on the 2026 team if he’s indeed used as such and is just around to both occasionally spell Ben Rice against tough lefties and serve as further injury insurance for the cold corner beyond Cody Bellinger (who the Yankees want in left). But Goldy’s bat can’t be as inconsistent as it was in 2025, when he was scorching hot in the first couple months before going cold for the majority of the season. Somewhere in the middle would be acceptable, and if he’s also teaching the still-new Rice some tools of the trade defensively while continuing to mentor in the clubhouse, then that also has utility. We’re all human after all.
That may be the best-case scenario for Goldschmidt at 38. He is a touch ancient — in the baseball sense anyway, I suppose. So are you ultimately fine with this move in a vacuum even if it’s continuing the “run it back” trend? Or should they have pursued other bench options?
Today on the site, Peter and Nolan will run through the Yankees’ list of 27 non-roster invitees to 2026 spring training and offer some commentary; Peter will handle the hitters and Nolan will be on the pitchers. For today’s featured birthday, Michael will tip his cap to an erstwhile Yankees middle infield up-and-comer who went on to flourish in Toronto in the 1980s: Dámaso García.
Read the full article here