The Yankees were heavily rumored to be interested in signing Christian Walker to fill their void at first base, but Walker agreed to a three-year, $60 million deal with the Astros on Friday.
They didn’t wait long to find a “replacement.”
Per Jeff Passan of ESPN, Goldschmidt will get a one-year, $12.5 million contract to leave the Cardinals and head to New York.
Let’s take a look at what the Yankees are getting in Goldschmidt, and whether or not he’s still a viable fantasy option.
What kind of season did Goldschmidt have in 2024?
First, let’s remind everyone that Goldschmidt had been one of the most productive hitters in baseball coming into the 2024 season, and had done it for a decade for the Diamondbacks and Cardinals. He’s finished third or higher in MVP voting four times, and took home the award in 2021. In his 14 seasons, he’s hit 362 homers, forged an OPS of .892, won four Gold Gloves, and will be enshrined in Cooperstown whenever he hangs up the cleats.
But unfortunately, 2024 was not the best season for Goldschmidt. In fact, it was pretty easily his worst with a slash of .245/.304/.414. His .716 OPS was the lowest of his career, and his OPS+ of 98 was the first time he’d posted a below-average figure in that metric (100 is average). Simply put, there’s a reason why Goldschmidt hit the free agent market, and didn’t get anywhere near Walker’s despite his impressive accolades.
What went wrong for Goldschmidt last year?
Goldschmidt has been a patient hitter throughout his career, as he’s walked in 12.7 percent of his plate appearances; well above the 8.4 percent average in that time frame. That patience didn’t show up in 2024, however, as he drew just 47 free passes in 654 plate appearances; a walk-rate of 7.2 percent that placed him in the bottom 38th percentile of qualified hitters.
Goldschmidt has always been a player who has struck out a ton, and 2024 wasn’t an exception. He fanned in 26.5 percent of his plate appearances, and he swung and missed an unhealthy 27.4 percent of the time. It’s one thing to not put the ball in play, but when you’re not putting the ball in play and you’re not generating free passes, it’s another level of trouble.
Many hitters of Goldschmidt’s age start to struggle with velocity, but at least in 2024, it was the slower stuff that gave him trouble; in this case the sweeper and change-ups. Against the former, Goldschmidt had an average of just .182 with a .309 slugging percentage, and…