The New York Yankees made a few moves over the weekend to put the finishing touches on their roster, and bring back another player for continuity in 2026.
The New York Yankees have had an active last 24 hours, including re-signing first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year deal. He would mark the sixth player the Yankees have signed from their 2025 team, after bringing back Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Amed Rosario, Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn. New York has stayed internal with their moves, having yet to sign a free agent outside their club to a contract. After losing Juan Soto to the New York Mets, the Yankees targeted Goldschmidt to be their first baseman on a one-year, $12 million deal for the 2025 campaign.
This next season, the 38-year-old is anticipated to back up Ben Rice at first base, and to primarily start against lefty pitchers. Goldschmidt slashed .274/.328/.403 with a .981 OPS against lefties and a .619 OPS against righties through 146 games last season. His drastic split led from him going from everyday starter to a more platoon role with Rice starting against right-handed pitchers. It’s not the flashiest move, but it’s one that builds their foundation, and that seems like the set of moves New York has set out to make over the weekend.
Here is the full story from Yankees Roundtable writer Matthew Schmidt on the series of moves by New York and what they have left to do to finalize their 2026 roster.
Goldschmidt had a bounce back year in New York after recording career lows in several metrics – batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS – in 2024 with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was enough to bring him back in a more backup role in his 16th year in the Majors.