The Yankees are in trouble.

They declined to sign Anthony Rizzo, so Paul Goldschmidt is now at first base. And, why not? Goldschmidt is an upgrade at every statistical category career-wise. What they lose is leadership and what is still a decent bat. Don’t be surprised if they re-sign him at the midway point. Also, consider that Goldschmidt’s numbers declined the last two years he was in St. Louis. If he is coming to the end like all players do and only hits .250 he’s probably still going to hit 30 home runs and drive in 80 or 90 runs. 

Buuuut, that’s if anyone can get on base for him. The addition of Juan Soto (.284 batting average, .951 on-base-plus-slugging career) for the playoff run last year gave them a guy, like Aaron Judge who could carry a team for a couple of weeks. But he was also a guy who could go into some pretty serious slumps at the worst time. Remember when he hit .236 during his time with San Diego? Can he be great? Yes. Was he worth what the Mets paid for him? No. But, for the Yankees, here’s the scary thing: four of New York’s starters have hit under .236 for their careers. So, yes, they should have probably signed him, especially since none of the young guys seem to be particularly impressive. They will miss his production…unless Cody Bellinger retains his form from the last two years with the Chicago (averaged 130 games, 22 home runs, .287 batting) and even then, it’s a drop-off. As for Judge (.288 career average, all-time, untainted single-season home run king), he is the leader among active players in slugging and on-base-plus-slugging and he is actually improving. His batting average has increased in three of the last four years. He is definitely a triple-crown threat in ‘25. The team has to be used to injuries to Giancarlo Stanton by now so that’s not a shock. Jazz Chisholm reminds me of Deion Sanders in that he had enough athletic ability to stay in the league awhile but at some point in time, he’s going to have to put it all together and he’s going to have to prove he can play a full season. He has 25-home-run power, but his swing and approach make him wildly inconsistent. Ben Rice (.171 average in 2024) looked woefully overwhelmed.

The Yankees went to the World Series last year and probably should’ve won it. There should be several fewer wins this year, though, with Boston’s improvement. And who knows what Tampa Bay is going to do… Every time we’ve counted them out in the last decade they’ve come back with new arms, new legs, new bats (Do we like the torpedo?), and the same number of wins. The injury to Gerritt Cole is huge. The addition of Max Fried well ease some of the pain suffered by the loss of Cole. Behind him who are their starters going to be? Carlos Rodon was the opening-day starter. And then you have…Will Warren? Carlos Carrasco? Marcus Strohman’s best years seem to be behind him. This could get ugly…fast.

Aaron Boone will have to manage his tail off. Brian Cashman will have to spend some money. Right now, this is an 85-win team.

Aaron Boone will have to manage his tail off. Brian Cashman will have to spend some money. Right now, this is an 85-win team and that is only because of Judge and Goldschmidt.