New York Yankees Slugger Has Far Exceeded Expectations This Season

A new slugger for the New York Yankees has performed great to begin the year.

Apr 17, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees first base Paul Goldschmidt (48) slides into third base against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

As the New York Yankees get set for a weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays, they have to be pleased with how the team is playing.

Currently, the Yankees have a 15-10 record, which puts them atop the American League East.

Considering the names on the injured list for New York, their play early on has been an impressive feat. With Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton and Luis Gil all being out, the Yankees have found a way to win games.

One of the main reasons for that has been the offense.

The Yankees had one of the best lineups in the league last year with their two superstars, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, leading the way. However, despite both of them playing at a high level and putting up elite numbers, the overall batting order felt short at times.

This season, despite losing Soto, the offense has some more depth and length to it.

Furthermore, it’s helpful that the reigning AL MVP is performing at a high level in April.

But even though Judge is off to a fantastic start, another right-handed slugger has performed for the team, too.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is proving to be an excellent signing for the Yankees early on after coming off a down campaign with the St. Louis Cardinals.

At 37 years old, this was a risky move by New York. However, it is one that is turning out to be a great addition.

So far this season, the former National League MVP is slashing .383/.433/.489 with one home run, nine RBI and seven doubles.

Considering first base has been a problem the last two campaigns for New York with Anthony Rizzo both hurt and playing ineffectively, it has been great to see these types of numbers for Goldschmidt.

While the overall numbers for the slugger have been great, he has been red-hot of late. He is currently on an eight-game hitting streak, and in the last seven days, has slashed 464/.516/.536.

Even though this level of production might not be sustainable throughout the season, it has come at a good time.

There were plenty of concerns about how the offense would perform for the Yankees to begin the year with Stanton out and Soto gone. But Goldschmidt and some others stepped up early on to ease those concerns.