Yankees Interested In Paul Goldschmidt

The Cubs have seemingly been trying to trade first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger for weeks, with the Yankees the club most often connected to Bellinger. Recent reports have suggested that the two clubs have been facing a gap in negotiations, however. It was reported over the weekend by Jon Heyman of The New York Post that the Yankees were considering various alternatives, which was echoed this afternoon by Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Heyman’s report from the weekend suggested that the Yankees were considering trade candidates like Josh Naylor of the Guardians and Nathaniel Lowe of the Rangers, as well as free agents Pete Alonso, Christian Walker or Carlos Santana. Nightengale’s framing is similar, saying that the Yankees are engaged with those three free agents as well as Paul Goldschmidt.

Those free agents will all come with very different price points, mostly due to age. Alonso is easily the youngest at 30 years old. Walker will turn 34 in March, Goldschmidt is 37 and Santana turns 39 in April. At the start of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Alonso for a five-year, $125MM deal, with Walker at $60MM over three years and Goldschmidt projected for $15MM on a one-year pact. Santana wasn’t mentioned after signing with the Twins for $5.25MM via a one-year deal last winter, though he could earn a raise after a strong 2024 season.

The Yankees still have several moving pieces in their offseason, so their first base move will come in conjunction with moves elsewhere. They also need a left fielder and one more infielder, likely a third baseman with Jazz Chisholm Jr. moving to second base, though adding at the keystone is also a possibility. Further bullpen moves could also be considered while the rotation arguably still has a surplus, even after the Yanks got Devin Williams for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin.

For those various openings, they have been connected to guys like Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander, Bellinger and others, as well as these various first base candidates. How much they spend on one spot could naturally have an impact on how much they spend on another. RosterResource currently projects the club for a payroll of $245MM next year, while they were in the $300MM range in 2024.

Goldschmidt will likely be relatively affordable compared to Alonso or Walker, at least in terms of contract length. Given his age and recent downturn in performance, he’s likely looking at a one-year deal. He won National League Most…