Two years earlier than they grew to become Yankee teammates, Paul Goldschmidt and Aaron Decide spent a couple of hours collectively in Tampa, Fla.
Goldschmidt, who was then the reigning Nationwide League MVP, and Decide, who had simply received his first American League MVP, took some swings collectively that day in January 2023, hoping to assist one another get even higher at their respective crafts.
“I don’t know him extremely well,” Goldschmidt mentioned Thursday throughout an introductory Zoom name.
“I got the opportunity to meet him and stayed in touch with him. I know it was written how we got together a few years ago and hit. That’s something I’ve always tried to do, find great hitters or great players or coaches and just try to seek them out and try to learn from them. That was great.”
Decide and Goldschmidt have loads of time to get to know one another higher now.
Goldschmidt, 37, signed a one-year, $12.5 million contract to be the Yankees’ first baseman, including a fourth former MVP — together with Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger — for supervisor Aaron Boone to plug into the lineup.
The signing concluded the first-ever foray into free company for Goldschmidt, who spent his first eight MLB seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the final six with the St. Louis Cardinals.
“There was definitely a level of comfort, just understanding and knowing guys like Judge,” Goldschmidt mentioned of selecting the Yankees. “Stanton and I played on Team USA [in the 2017 World Baseball Classic]. Even Booney, he used to live in Arizona before he took the job here. Him and I lived in the same neighborhood, so I knew him.”
The Yankees hope Goldschmidt may be a part of the answer for changing famous person slugger Juan Soto, who left final month for a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract with the crosstown Mets.
Goldschmidt, a seven-time All-Star with 362 house runs, is coming off of a down season wherein he hit a career-low .245 with 22 homers and a career-worst .716 OPS.
However Goldschmidt delivered a .271 common and a .799 OPS within the second half, a turnaround he attributes to mechanical and psychological changes.
Goldschmidt, a right-handed hitter with energy to all fields, stands to learn from enjoying his house video games at Yankee Stadium, the place the brief porch in proper subject is simply 314 ft down the road.
In six profession video games at Yankee Stadium — together with three final summer season — Goldschmidt boasts a .462 common, 4 doubles, a house run and a 1.192 OPS over 27 plate appearances.
“Just to feel the energy walking out of the dugout, that was really fun,” Goldschmidt mentioned of final yr’s journey to the Bronx. “It was something I was excited about. The energy’s high every game there and something I’m looking forward to.”
A four-time Gold Glove winner, Goldschmidt replaces first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who struggled with accidents the final two seasons.
The addition of Goldschmidt got here amid a busy offseason wherein the Yankees additionally signed left-hander Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract and swung trades for Bellinger, who can play a number of outfield positions, and star nearer Devin Williams.
They be part of a World Sequence-hopeful roster headlined by Decide, who received his second AL MVP final yr after main MLB batters with 58 house runs, 144 RBI and a 1.159 OPS.
“He’s one of the best hitters in the world, maybe the best hitter,” Goldschmidt mentioned, “and as a right-handed power hitter, [is] a guy that I’m very, very excited to play with and get to see him work every day.”
