AL East juggernaut checking in on former Cardinals' MVP Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Goldschmidt and the St. Louis Cardinals could each see the writing on the wall in regards to their future relationship as the former MVP limped to the finish of his contract with two subpar seasons. The first base free agent market has been lukewarm at best, but a recent report shows that the New York Yankees are the latest team to at least have interest in Goldy.

Goldschmidt's fit and the Yankees' needs

The Yankees first grabbed Anthony Rizzo from the Cubs in 2021 after the lefty put together a successful 10-year run with the division rivals. Rizzo took extreme advantage of the short porch in right field as he hammered 40 home runs during his first season and a half with the Bronx Bombers. Since then, however, constant back issues and declining performance forced the Yankees to look elsewhere for their next first baseman.

As recent as this past weekend, the Yankees were known to be checking all of the boxes in regards to their opening, ranging from a trade with the Cubs for Cody Bellinger and free agent options like Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, and most recently Paul Goldschmidt. Finances are never an issue for the high-spending Yankees so all of these names should be considered options until they either end up in New York or somewhere else around the league.

Even with Goldschmidt coming off back-to-back down seasons since his 2022 MVP, the 37-year-old still expects to field plenty of high-priced offers from clubs looking to compete this upcoming campaign. Since his career year in his MVP season, the first baseman's counting stats have declined, with 2023 being his lowest OPS+ season since his 2011 rookie year. Even with the decreased output, he still put up a well-above-average offensive numbers before truly falling to a low point of his career last year.

In what was the worst season of his potential Hall of Fame career, the silent leader of the Cardinals had his lowest batting average (.245), OPS (.716 - his first year under .800), and OPS+ (98) while also logging his highest strikeout total since 2018. On the positive side of things, Goldschmidt still provided a 1.3 WAR season, thanks in part to his 11 stolen bases and well-above-average defense at first base.

Overall, the Goldschmidt to Yankees fit makes sense, but there are still high-quality free agents that need a place to play in 2025. Along with the 2022 MVP, younger power hitters like Pete Alonso and Josh Bell could slot right into the tantalizing Yankee lineup but may come at a higher cost with a longer guarantee than the aging Goldschmidt may be seeking. The Yankees are just one suitor that has popped up for the first baseman, so it will be interesting to see if there are more organizations that have a spot for Goldschmidt who will reach out in the near future. While other teams around the league are shooting to fill spots for a playoff run, the Cardinals are entrenched with Willson Contreras as their everyday first baseman.

The whole free agent market has taken a little bit of a pause after the Winter Meetings, but teams may be shooting to get deals done before the holidays.