The New York Yankees’ season has taken a sudden turn as they are now fighting to stay in the postseason picture.
One of the reasons the Yankees have struggled as of late is Paul Goldschmidt’s falloff offensively. Through May, he was slashing .338/.394/.495 with six home runs. Since June 1, he is slashing .211/.266/.349 with just four home runs.
The future Hall of Famer is on a one-year deal, and the Yankees have Ben Rice ready to take over at first base. FanSided’s Lucas Babits-Feinerman thinks Goldschmidt has played his way out of a spot on the team next year.
“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,” wrote Babits-Feinerman.
Goldschmidt is a former MVP Award winner, seven-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glover and five-time Silver Slugger. After the first couple of months of the season, his $12.5 million deal seemed like a steal for the Yankees. However, he is now showing that Father Time is undefeated and giving the Yankees a reason to make Rice an everyday player next year.
Goldschmidt still has time to get back to hitting well. The Yankees need to turn their season around in a hurry, and it’s no coincidence that they were playing better when Goldschmidt was swinging like a star.
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