Three weeks ago, the New York Yankees appeared to be the far-and-away favorite to win the American League pennant. Fast forward to today, and there are injury-induced question marks throughout their roster, especially on their starting pitching rotation. And they just sustained another potential blow. New starting first baseman Paul Goldschmidt left Monday’s spring training game versus the Toronto Blue Jays with back soreness, per The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner.
The 2022 National League MVP and free-agent acquisition exited after three innings, sending Yankees fans into a state of exasperation. There is no need to fret quite yet, though. The issue does not seem too serious at this time, at least according to the man himself.
“He said he has been dealing with {the sore back} for a couple of days and didn’t want to push it,” MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “Goldschmidt said he has ‘zero’ concerns about being ready for Opening Day.” The Bronx will relax once they hear an official report downplaying the severity of the injury, but perhaps this is a rare lucky break for the Yankees in 2025.
Yankees have had a brutal spring training
Gerrit Cole is going to miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Luis Gil has a possible three-month stint on the injured list ahead of him and Clarke Schmidt just suffered a setback. As if the severely shorthanded pitching rotation is not enough, slugger Giancarlo Stanton and third baseman DJ LeMahieu are already on the shelf as well, once again succumbing to the injury bug.
The Yankees are growing weaker by the day. They can still roll out an impactful lineup right now, but preserving Goldschmidt figures is important. He batted .245 and hit 22 home runs in arguably the worst season of his MLB career last year, but the 37-year-old was a valuable contributor in the final two months of the campaign. Furthermore, the four-time Gold Glove winner still plays capable defense at first.
Assuming he can stay healthy, Goldschmidt should be an overall upgrade at first. His .302 on-base percentage in 2024 was almost 80 points below his lifetime average, so if he can just embody the plate discipline that has remained a constant in his game for 14 years, then the Yankees should be more than happy to give him $12.5 million for the 2025 season.
But Paul Goldschmidt cannot prove management right if he is unhealthy. Ideally, he will be able to figure out how to best remedy his back soreness before the grind begins.
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