Why Paul Goldschmidt is key to Yankees surviving Aaron Judge’s injury

Despite dealing with injuries to All-Stars like captain Aaron Judge and top-line starter Max Fried, the New York Yankees have remained one of the American League’s best teams.

Their pitching depth, combined with the return of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, has allowed them to reach a certain standard consistently. But offensive contributions from unlikely sources like veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt have turned what could have been a troubling stretch into one that has kept them ahead of the pack.

The 38-year-old may not be the same player who was the National League’s most valuable in 2022 as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, but his place as an intelligent, right-handed bat with pop has made him invaluable.

“He’s a Hall of Fame player. It’s pretty obvious,” Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon told SNY of Goldschmidt recently. “He’s been really good at this game for a long time, and he’s aging pretty well as well.”

Paul Goldschmidt has been youthful at the right time

One of the primary concerns regarding the Yankees’ lineup to begin the season was that they may be too left-handed. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, and Trent Grisham are all lefties. Without Judge or Giancarlo Stanton in the order, New York does not boast a premier righty bat.

Goldschmidt has filled this need. Through his first 52 contests, he has mashed 12 home runs, recorded 37 RBIs, and hit .297. Against lefties, the former eighth-round pick has hit .397 and posted a 1.222 OPS.

This is a marked improvement from what he produced in 2025. Across 146 games, he posted a .731 OPS, hit 10 home runs, and collected 45 RBIS. Against lefties, he hit .336 and ended the year with a .981 OPS.

“You’re going to have attrition throughout the course of the year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com earlier this month. “You’re going to get banged up over the course of the year, and our confidence in his ability to still really kill lefties is there — plus just who he is in the room and who he is on the team. I was thrilled when we got it done.”

According to Baseball Savant, Goldschmidt ranks in the 78th percentile in terms of Batting Run Value and the 76th percentile in barrel%. Further, his xSLG is up from a season ago. In 2025, the Wilmington native earned a .450 xSLG. He has a .474 xSLG to begin 2026.

It is no secret that the Yankees’ roster includes individuals who can hit home runs and experience stretches of elite production. But, given they’re currently without two of their biggest righty threats, Goldschmidt is a needed piece.

The first baseman’s somewhat surprising resurgence has undoubtedly helped the team in the box score, but has also presented matchup problems for opposing pitchers and managers. An opposing skipper could have a harder time deciding when to pull a starter or which reliever to deploy when Goldschmidt is in New York’s lineup, if for no other reason than that he can’t blindly or easily turn to a lefty.

It remains to be seen how Boone will utilize Goldschmidt once the team is back at full strength, but the club’s decision to bring him back on a one-year deal has certainly aged well as they look to get healthy and hot at the right time.

“[Goldschmidt] has been coming up huge,” Boone told Greg Joyce of the California Post. “Just when you think some righties hold him down a little bit, he comes up with a big at-bat. We’ve needed every bit of it. He continues to be massively productive right in the middle of the order.”

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