Aug 6, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (48) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Yankees Losing Hope In Ex-Cardinals Slugger Amid Struggles

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Zach Pressnell | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals have made a lot of moves in the last year that indicate they're ready to rebuild and reconstruct their roster at the end of this season. One of the first moves the Cardinals made that gave this idea was letting Paul Goldschmidt walk in free agency.

After sitting on the open market for a while, Goldschmidt signed a one-year deal with the New York Yankees, and, for the most part, looked good during the first few months of the season. But the veteran has begun to struggle.

Lucas Babits-Feinerman of Yanks Go Yard recently suggested Goldschmidt could be playing himself out of New York's 2026 plans, considering he's struggled quite a bit since June 1.

Paul Goldschmidt is playing himself out of the Bronx

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

"The future Hall-of-Famer signed with the Yankees after a career-worst season with the Cardinals in 2024. It was a bargain bin signing - one-year, $12 million, but reasonably made, since Goldschmidt had a typical 120 wRC+ during the second half of the season in 2024," Babits-Feinerman wrote. "However, the wheels fell off in June when he hit .143/.226/.238 in 94 plate appearances.

"His July was better: .280/.308/.400, but still a far cry from his excellent first two months of the season. The Yanks have Ben Rice, MLB's unluckiest hitter (he has the worst xBA - AVG among qualified hitters), waiting in the wings to take over at first base next year, and Goldschmidt's role as a defensive stalwart and short-side platoon bat (he's still hitting over .400 against lefties) probably won't be enough to entice him to stick around."

Since June, Goldschmidt isn't the same .300/.400/.500 player that he was during the first two months of the year. In fact, he's been slightly below league average in that span.

The Yankees will likely let the former Cardinals slugger walk in free agency for a few reasons.

Obviously, his performance is dropping off, so it's unlikely the Yankees would want to reunite with him. But they also have other quality options at first base,

Ben Rice seems to be the team's first baseman of the future, unless they land a superstar in free agency. Rice has great underlying numbers and seems to hit the ball hard every time up. Cody Bellinger could also be brought back as a first baseman, despite manning the outfield with the Yankees this year.

Either way, Goldschmidt seems to be playing himself right out of the Yankees' 2026 plans.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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