Sources: 1B Paul Goldschmidt, Yankees finalizing 1-year deal

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt and the New York Yankees are finalizing a one-year contract, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Friday, reuniting the two sides after one season together.

Goldschmidt, 38, is expected to back up Ben Rice at first base and primarily start games against left-handed pitchers. The seven-time All-Star finished .274/.328/.403 in 146 games last season with drastic splits, posting a .981 OPS in 168 plate appearances against lefties and a .619 OPS in 366 plate appearances against righties.

Goldschmidt would be the sixth player the Yankees have re-signed from last season’s team, joining Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Amed Rosario, Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn. New York has yet to sign a free agent from another club to a major league contract. Other moves include acquiring left-hander Ryan Weathers and selecting right-hander Cade Winquest in the Rule 5 draft.

Goldschmidt began 2025 as the Yankees’ everyday first baseman after signing a one-year, $12 million deal to be part of the recovery plan after the team lost Juan Soto to the Mets.

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By midseason, however, he was in a platoon role in the second half, with Rice establishing himself in his second season and getting the starts against right-handed pitchers.

Goldschmidt finished the season with a 169 Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) against lefties, good for fourth in the majors. But his 74 wRC+ against righties was tied for 148th among 155 players. Seven of his 10 homers came against lefties.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone and players constantly praised Goldschmidt for his professionalism, leadership and clubhouse presence. Goldschmidt, a six-time top-10 MVP finisher with the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks, worked with Rice at first base, offering the younger teammate tips to improve at a position he had barely played before his rookie season in 2024.

The Yankees entered the postseason with the timeshare at first base, but Goldschmidt was moved to a reserve role after Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Boston Red Sox. He came off the bench in four of the next five games and didn’t start again until Game 4 of the ALDS, when the Yankees were eliminated in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Goldschmidt, the 2022 National League MVP, arrived in New York after recording career lows in batting average (.245), on-base percentage (.302), slugging percentage (.414) and OPS (.716) with the Cardinals in 2024.

His first year in the Bronx was good enough for the Yankees to bring him back in a reduced role for his 16th major league season.

As it stands, the Yankees have five choices for four bench spots with spring training less than a week away: Goldschmidt, catcher J.C. Escarra, outfielder Jasson Dominguez, and utilitymen Rosario and Oswaldo Cabrera.