Inside The Cardinals

Ex-Cardinals Slugger Continues Historic Start With Yankees

Paul Goldschmidt is off to an incredible start with the Yankees.
Zach Pressnell|
Apr 18, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (48) is congratulated in the dugout after scoring during the second inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dave Nelson-Imagn Images
Apr 18, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (48) is congratulated in the dugout after scoring during the second inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dave Nelson-Imagn Images | Dave Nelson-Imagn Images

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The St. Louis Cardinals opted to cut ties with veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt during the offseason in a decision that seemed to indicate St. Louis was heading to a rebuild. Goldschmidt struggled a bit with St. Louis in 2023 and 2024 (by his standards and expectations).

The veteran first baseman signed a one-year deal with the New York Yankees, joining Aaron Judge, as a piece of the Bronx Bombers' backup plan after whiffing on Juan Soto in free agency.

The ex-Cardinals slugger has gotten off to quite a hot start for the Yankees.

Through 26 games and 99 at bats, he's slashing an absurd .364/.413/.465 with seven doubles and 12 runs scored. He's been worth 0.6 WAR already on the season.

With an OPS near .900 and an OPS+ of 155, Goldschmidt could be headed back to the All-Star Game if he continues to slug like this. Hitting in front of or behind Judge helps quite a bit, but Goldschmidt is playing his role tremendously.

According to Baseball Savant, Goldschmidt also ranks in the elite tier of Batting Run Value, xwOBA, xSLG, and xBA. This is a stark contrast from 2024, when Goldschmidt was around league average in a lot of advanced metrics.

Letting Goldschmidt walk in free agency was the correct decision for the Cardinals whether he's playing great this season or not. St. Louis needed to turn the page to a new era of baseball and it begins with cutting ties with the veterans.

This is one of those rare win-win situations.

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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