D-backs Made No Offer to Paul Goldschmidt and Now It's Haunting Them

Former Arizona Diamondbacks legend Paul Goldschmidt is an ageless wonder, but he's doing it for the New York Yankees once again.

Ahead of the 2026 season there was some buzz that the D-backs were "kicking the tires" on a reunion with their former MVP-candidate first baseman. Ultimately, he signed on with the Yankees for his second straight year in the Bronx — just a one-year, $4 million contract.

And now, Goldschmidt is hitting .301/.361/.571 with 14 homers, Arizona has the worst first base production in baseball, and the money that might have gone to Goldschmidt has been spent on two pitcher contracts that have yet to pay dividends this season.

"They had made the decision [to sign Carlos Santana] early on, and we never even had discussions with Goldy," said Diamondbacks team president and CEO Derrick Hall, speaking to Arizona Sports 98.7's Bickley & Marotta Show.

"[Owner Ken Kendrick] and I had asked the question several times, 'Should we bring Goldy back? Would he be interested in coming back?' We never even got to that point and we turned our attention to focusing those dollars on the pitchers, on bringing back the two starters.

"That was such a commitment financially that it made sense to get a little more penny-wise elsewhere, but no, we never got to that point," Hall said.

The truth is, a reunion with Goldschmidt was never necessarily a highly-realistic expectation. Arizona could not offer him a full-time playing load, and would have likely had to offer him significantly more than what the Yankees offered in order to get him back to the desert.

And yet, it's still strange that Arizona did not even pick up the phone to call their former star first baseman. They probably should have at least knocked on that door.

3 reasons Paul Goldschmidt's success is haunting Diamondbacks

Jun 8, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Paul Goldschmidt (48) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Goldschmidt's success in his age-38 is an exceptionally tough pill to swallow for Arizona fans, for multiple reasons — three big ones, in particular.

Perhaps the most notable reason is the fact that the Diamondbacks rank dead last in first base OPS, while the Yankees rank first. Arizona has posted a .579 OPS from their parade of first base options, and that number would be a lot worse if not for Ildemaro Vargas' historic month of April.

In fact, the next closest team in first base production is the New York Mets, whose .643 first base OPS is still 64 points higher.

Granted, Goldschmidt has been utilized in a somewhat-protected role, and most of his production is against left-handed pitching. Coming into Thursday, he had an OPS of 1.304 against southpaws and just a .665 OPS against righties, though that still adds up to a very productive overall player. The Diamondbacks would likely welcome even the .665 number to their unproductive group of first basemen.

Meanwhile, the alternative plans have gone south for Arizona. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly — the two pitchers Hall noted prioritizing over Goldschmidt — have not pitched well this year. Gallen has a 6.10 ERA (the worst among qualified starters) and Kelly has a 5.71.

These two arms aren't giving the D-backs much for their money, and they weren't cheap, either. Kelly is on a two-year, $40 million deal while Gallen is making the equivalent of the Qualifying Offer ($22.025 million) with some deferrals.

And Santana, who Arizona signed to fill their first base void, hit just .083 in eight games before going down with an injury, and was just designated for assignment on Wednesday. His deal was worth $2 million.

Needless to say, all of that money and those roster spots might have been better spent on Goldschmidt, though it likely would have taken more than the $4 million New York offered to lure him away from a highly-touted contending team like the Yankees.

At the very least, it's strange the Diamondbacks did not even make a legitimate offer to Goldschmidt.

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