"He was worlds better than Anthony Rizzo" – MLB insider backs Yankees' $12,500,000 investment to thrive at first base

The New York Yankees were one of the worst teams offensively at first base last season. Anthony Rizzo struggled, hitting only .228 with eight home runs. Rizzo was injured late in the season and his replacement, Ben Rice, also struggled, hitting only .171 with seven home runs.

The Yankees attempted to address that weakness by signing former NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year, $12.5 million deal this offseason. MLB insider Joel Sherman highlighted why the investment is a sound one and could prove fruitful in the near future.

"The idea is always to improve, and as bad as Goldschmidt might have been compared to his history last year, I will tell you two things — he was worlds better than Anthony Rizzo," Sherman said (40:20 onwards).

Sherman cited FanGraphs WAR and deduced that one of the best hitters in first base, Pete Alonso, and Goldschmidt weren't too far off.

"11th in the major leagues in FanGraphs WAR for first basemen is Pete Alonso. 12th is Paul Goldschmidt.

"I think that’s what it was. They’re back-to-back ... And Pete Alonso, at 29, just had a year that, in overall value, was a lot like Paul Goldschmidt’s worst season of his life."

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Joel Sherman doubles down on support of Paul Goldschmidt

Joel Sherman added that even though Paul Goldschmidt may be past his prime, he was the one person he would want manning first base.

"If you were asking me to bet on somebody in their mid-to-late 30s to have a bounce-back season, I’d bet on Goldy," Sherman added. "And again, that’s not me — that’s the people who are being paid to be experts on this.

"There was a general, 'Oh, that’s a good gamble,' because I think even the downside for Goldschmidt is probably one more season that looks like last year —where he hits 20ish homers, has a low-.700 OPS, and can field, is a solid baserunner, a solid defender, and great in the clubhouse for stability. That’s probably league-average first base. The Yankees were well below that last year."

2024 was widely considered to be one of the worst years for Paul Goldschmidt, but he still struck 22 home runs, hitting .245. That's better than the average production at the position in the league.