When the Yankees signed 37-year-old Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year, $12.5 million deal this offseason, it felt like a quiet, strategic move — not a headline grabber, but a smart bet on a proven veteran. A bridge player. A steady bat.
Turns out, they may have hit the jackpot.
Goldschmidt, now leading off for the first time in his career, is doing more than just holding down a spot in the order — he’s thriving in it. Through the early stretch of the season, he’s slashing an absurd .383/.431/.511 with a 175 wRC+, peppering hits to all fields and anchoring the top of the Yankees lineup with poise and production.
He’s currently 75% better than the average hitter based on his wRC+.
A Hitting Clinic at the Top of the Lineup
For someone who’s spent his entire career in the heart of the order, Goldschmidt has adapted to the leadoff role like a seasoned table-setter. He’s not just swinging early and trying to find his groove — he’s setting the tone.
Statcast loves what he’s doing, too.
He ranks in the 91st percentile in launch angle sweet spot — meaning he’s finding that ideal contact zone consistently — and the 87th percentile in squared-up rate. That’s a fancy way of saying he’s barreling baseballs with regularity, and it’s showing in the results.
Even more impressively, he’s in the 77th percentile in both whiff rate and strikeout rate, proving he’s not just swinging for the fences but putting the ball in play with consistency and intent.
He’s become exactly what the Yankees hoped for — a contact-first hitter who can slap singles, extend at-bats, and force pitchers to work from the very first pitch.
A Quiet Defensive Upgrade at First Base
While the bat has been grabbing headlines, Goldschmidt’s work with the glove has quietly solidified the Yankees’ infield.
First base has been a carousel of inconsistency for New York in recent seasons, but Goldschmidt brings balance and reliability. He’s scooping low throws, managing traffic on bunt plays, and making everything around him a little cleaner — the kind of presence that doesn’t always show up in the box score, but keeps the defense steady.
For a team with title aspirations, that kind of defensive stability is gold. Literally.
The Veteran Edge
Goldschmidt knows it’s a long season. He’s not riding the highs too hard, or getting caught up in early stats.
“It’s nice to get hits, and the team’s been playing well,” he said, via the New York Dailys News. “So I’ve felt pretty good. But there’s still a long season to go.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone echoed that sentiment, pointing to Goldschmidt’s strong finish last year as a key to his resurgence.
“Just in talking with him over the winter and talking through what he went through last year, I think he was really confident going into this year with what he was kind of able to unlock in those final couple months of the season,” Boone said. “So I think he felt like he was in a good spot going into the winter. I thought his spring was good and how he wanted it to unfold. And he’s gotten off to a good start, which never hurts. You always want that, but I feel like this is what we can expect.”
Right now, the Yankees are getting far more than they paid for. And Goldschmidt? He’s proving there’s still plenty of gold left in that bat.