Yankees bring Paul Goldschmidt home on one-year deal (and now the chaos begins)

If you're the New York Yankees and you're looking for right-handed bats who can thicken your bench and feast off left-handers, then why wouldn't you want someone who hit .336 with a .981 OPS against southpaws last season?

Well ... you might not commit to that player if he's a first baseman and you're already banking on Ben Rice, your splendid sophomore, playing closer to his Savant page in Year 3. You might not commit to that player if you're seeking power rather than bat-to-ball skills; this particular guy's thunderous bat looked sapped in 2025, though seven of his 10 homers came off lefties. But ... the Yankees weren't overly concerned about either of these things when they fended off the Padres' interest and signed Paul Goldschmidt on Friday.

Jeff Passan was first to the news, though plenty of Yankee fans could've written this tweet and kept it in their drafts after Jack Curry first reignited the connection on YES last week.

Goldschmidt certainly gives the Yankees a steady presence, a future Hall of Famer, some potency in their greatest area of need, and a professional hitter who could hop off the bench cold and deliver a quality at-bat. But he does not give them a righty-hitting outfielder. So ... what gives? Where do we go from here? Complete chaos.

Yankees sign Paul Goldschmidt, so ... where is the right-handed hitting outfielder?

That means the Yankees' bench, for now, is Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, Jasson Domínguez/Oswaldo Cabrera, and backup catcher JC Escarra. It's running it back to an historic degree, and it could get even crazier if Austin Slater accepts their rumored $1 million offer.

The Yankees have made it clear, though, that they'd rather have a right-handed catcher instead of Escarra. Is there anyone on the board who's interesting enough to make that play? Does Rice occasionally become their backup catcher with Goldschmidt taking over first base? That's just another lefty, holding a shuffled deck chair on Hal Steinbrenner's Titanic.

Is there a right-handed outfielder coming, whether it be Slater or someone more exciting like Randal Grichuk? That would unequivocally bump Domínguez to Triple-A, and probably Cabrera, too. There's no way Rice can be the everyday backup catcher, right?

There could be two more moves to follow Goldschmidt's addition. Even though his offensive profile perfectly fits the Yankees' needs, his defensive realities mean that the team has plenty more they must sort through before Opening Day after committing to him. That, plus the mirror image of last October's failed roster, is why fans were ready to move on, despite the pedigree and splits.