Following Bellinger, Goldschmidt is captured! 4×MVP created by recruiting the Yankees storm, will LAD hit the lineup?
Dec 22, 2024
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Coincidentally, after losing Juan Soto to the rival Mets, it is attracting players as if they are angry. This time, MVP-turned-first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was recruited.
MLB.com said on the 22nd (Korea time) 'FA Goldschmidt agreed to a one-year, $12.5 million contract with the Yankees. There is no option clause, the sources said.
Goldschmidt is the fourth big shot brought by the Yankees since the closing of the Major League Winter Meeting on the 12th. The Yankees offered Soto $760 million for 16 years, but failed to keep up with the Mets' exceptional conditions. Soto's choice was, of course, the Mets.
Immediately after the Yankees, he signed FA starting ace Max Fried for eight years and $218 million to appease the disappointment of Soto's failure to renew his contract. He then acquired special closer Devin Williams through a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, and also brought Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger in a trade. And he agreed to a contract with Goldschmidt on that day.
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This year's Yankees first base position was actually the biggest weakness in the team's offense. The Yankees first baseman's slash line this year was 0.216/0.284/0.414 and only 16 home runs. Most of them are marked by Ancery Lizzo, who is now an FA. Lizzo broke up with the Yankees.
In fact, Goldschmidt was not a first-class FA market either. He played in 154 games this year and was sluggish with a batting average of 0.245 (147 hits in 599 at-bats), 22 homers, 65 RBIs, 70 points, and an OPS of 0.716. His batting average and OPS were his lowest since his debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011. In particular, it is the first time that it has fallen below 100 with OPS+98.
Goldschmidt, who was born in September 1987, will be 37 next year, and it seems difficult to regain his prime skills. However, he succeeded in reviving by raising his career to 0.883 the following year after recording a career path with an OPS of 0.821 in 2019, and won the NL MVP in 2022 with a batting average of 0.317, 35 homers, 115 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.981.
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As a result, the Yankees booked the real record of four MVPs in the same lineup next season. Aaron Judge, who was named AL MVP in 2022 and this year, Giancarlo Stanton, who was named NL MVP when he was with the Miami Marlins in 2017, Bellinger, who was named NL MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019, and Goldschmidt are among the standouts.
The Yankees will be the seventh MVP in history next year. The most recent example is this year's Dodgers. With Shohei Ohtani joining, he formed a '4 MVP" division with Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw. Although Kershaw spent most of the season on the injured list due to a shoulder injury, they played a major role in giving the Dodgers the World Series championship. Except for Kershaw, three MVPs are in their prime in their careers.
However, the four Yankees MVP players are clearly on the decline except for Judge. Bellinger, who is not yet 30 years old, is a variable, but it is too much to compare with the Dodgers this year. Stanton and Goldschmidt are old enough to hit 30 home runs and 100 RBIs without difficulty.
Goldschmidt visited the Tampa Yankees camp in Florida in the offseason two years ago and had batting training with Judge. At the time, Goldschmidt reportedly praised Judge as "Not only the greatest hitter on earth, but also the greatest man on earth". Now that I'm always training with Judge, it remains to be seen whether I'll be helped to revive the batting.
jhno@sportschosun.com
