They caught a star who was the MVP at a cheap price. The New York Yankees filled the first baseman's spot, which was much to be desired.

MLB.COM, the official website of the Major League Baseball (MLB), said on the 22nd (Korea time), "According to a source of reporter Mark Pinesand, Paul Goldschmidt (37) agreed to a $12.5 million (18.1 billion won) one-year contract with the Yankees," adding, "The team has not confirmed it yet and there is no option in this contract."메이저사이트

As a result, the Yankees held starter Max Fried, Closer Devin Williams, outfielder Cody Bellinger, bullpen pitcher Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson, as well as first base resource Goldschmidt.

The Yankees were initially known to have shown interest in Christian Walker, but he signed a three-year, $60 million contract with the Houston Astros on the 21st and quickly headed to Goldschmidt, the next best option.

Goldschmidt is a star who made his big league debut in 2011 and played in 1928 games in 14 seasons with a batting average of 0.289 2,056 hits, 362 homers, 1187 RBIs, 1204 runs and 169 steals, an on-base percentage of 0.381, a slugging percentage of 0.510 and an on-base percentage of 0.891 (OPS).

Goldschmidt, who made his debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks and moved to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019, won the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) with a batting average of 0.317 35 home runs, 115 RBIs and 106 runs, an on-base percentage of 0.404, a slugging percentage of 0.578 and an OPS of 0.982 in 151 games in 2022.

However, Goldschmidt, who had a batting average of 0.268 with 25 homers and 80 RBIs and an OPS of 0.810, remained sluggish this season with a batting average of 0.245 with 22 homers and 65 RBIs and an OPS of 0.716. The career-low season that came in his late 30s made him doubt the aging curve and his ransom was inevitably lowered.

Nevertheless, the Yankees decided to take the gamble of Goldschmidt, given that he still showed his power to hit more than 20 home runs and this season was the only season in the 14 seasons to fall below the MLB average in OPS+. Since the Yankees were the ones who knelt down to the Los Angeles Dodgers in this season's World Series, even if it was a short-term contract, it would be a well-deserved contract if Goldschmidt performed better than this year.

He is a star with a brilliant career. Goldschmidt was a seven-time All-Star and received a four-time Gold Glove Award for his outstanding defense.

MLB.COM said, "I don't know if I can rebound, but it has revived since 2019, when I recorded the lowest OPS (0.821) since I was a rookie," adding, "I was much more like my original self in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which were shortened by the pandemic, and I raised it to another level in 2022."

With Goldschmidt joining the team, the Yankees will have four MVP stars along with Aaron Judge (twice), Giancarlo Stanton (twice), and Bellinger (twice). In terms of name value, the team is also ahead of the MVP trio of the Dodgers, which are Mookie Betts, Shohei Otani and Freddie Freeman. It is only the seventh team in history to have four MVP winners.

It is possible that Judge's presence to the Yankees may have had a big impact on Goldschmidt's trip to the Yankees. "Two years ago in the offseason, Goldschmidt drove three hours across Florida to visit the Yankees spring camp training site in Tampa to exchange opinions with Judge, one of his favorite stars," MLB.COM said. "At that time, the two got close over lunch after hitting in the cage, and later Judge praised him as "one of the best hitters in the world and one of the best people around him."

There is a possibility that a close relationship could affect another recruitment. The Yankees want St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado to be acquired in a trade, but Goldschmidt and Arenado have had a close relationship in St. Louis. MLB.COM said, "If the team agrees to a trade, Goldschmidt can tempt Arenado to do so."