Alexander Wilson
The Yankees lost 9-4 to Cleveland on Tuesday, and no four-RBI night can fully clean up a game where the pitching staff gave up 12 hits and the whole thing got away.
Still, Paul Goldschmidt’s night should not get thrown into the same trash pile as the final score. He drove in every Yankees run, started the offense with a two-run homer, added a two-run single, and gave them hits in each of his first three plate appearances.
For a veteran who was supposed to be cheap matchup protection, this is starting to look like a bigger role. Goldschmidt is hitting .276/.364/.534 with an .898 OPS, .391 wOBA, 152 wRC+, seven homers, 23 RBIs, and 1.255 WAR through 132 plate appearances.
Goldschmidt keeps forcing more trust
The Yankees brought Goldschmidt back because they needed a right-handed veteran who could protect Ben Rice, punish lefties, and give Aaron Boone a more flexible first-base picture. That was the practical version of the move.
What they are getting right now is better than practical. Goldschmidt is driving the baseball, controlling the zone, and giving the lineup mature at-bats in spots where the Yankees have needed someone to slow the game down.
Tuesday was the clearest example. The game got away late, but Goldschmidt was the only reason the Yankees had a real foothold at all, and that matters when the rest of the offense did not do enough around him.
The role may need to keep expanding
The Yankees still have to be careful with how they distribute first-base and designated-hitter reps, especially with Rice producing like a middle-order force. Goldschmidt does not need to become the daily centerpiece.
But the idea that he is only matchup insurance feels too small now. He is giving the Yankees quality production at a low cost, and games like Tuesday make it harder to keep treating him like a complementary piece.
The loss was bad. Goldschmidt was not. If the Yankees are going to take anything useful from a frustrating night, it should be that their veteran first baseman still has more left than people wanted to admit.
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