Goldschmidt Unleashed? Yankees Mull Radical Lineup Shift, Hinting at a Tactical Masterstroke or a High-Stakes Offensive Gamble
The New York Yankees are going to break spring training with a new-look lineup. Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, Anthony Rizzo, and Gleyber Torres are all gone. One of the key additions this offseason was first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who joined the Yankees after a run with the St Louis Cardinals. Jack Curry of YES Network reports that the Yankees may put Goldschmidt at lead-off this season, somewhere he has never hit.
Just taped an Aaron Boone interview for our ‘Yankees News & Views’ podcast. We covered a lot,” Curry posted on social media. “From Boone…While [catcher Austin] Wells is expected to hit first vs RHP, Goldschmidt could get some reps vs LHP. He’s never led off in majors, but has a .381 career OBP.”
Curry continued with some context, “Goldschmidt hasn’t hit leadoff in any spring training games, but he’s expected to hit first vs the Phillies [Saturday, March 22]. Lefty Jesus Luzardo is scheduled to start for Philadelphia.”
When the Yankees signed Goldschmidt, they were not thinking lead-off. But they want to have Aaron Judge batting second. Putting a base-stealer like Jazz Chisholm Jr or Anthony Volpe at lead-off wastes that talent. They do not want guys getting picked off with Judge at the plate.
The Yankees going with an untraditional lead-off hitter
Throughout spring training, the Yankees have used catcher Austin Wells as their lead-off hitter. When he was performing well last year, he had a great on-base percentage. But as a catcher, he is not a base stealer. That is exactly the recipe the Yankees are looking for ahead of Judge.
If they do roll with Goldschmidt at lead-off against lefties, they would start with back-to-back right-handed hitters. Aaron Boone has not done that as the manager of the Yankees but it makes sense with the other options. They want Cody Bellinger to reap the benefits of hitting behind Judge and their switch hitters, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Jasson Dominguez, are young and developing.
The Yankees did not directly replace Gleyber Torres with another infielder. He ended the season as the lead-off hitter in the playoffs and was solid at it. His defense was not worth keeping around at second base but the lack of replacement leads to a lot of questions. Wells must succeed in that slot otherwise pitching around Judge becomes a real possibility.
The Yankees face the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day on March 27 in The Bronx. With Freddy Peralta on the hill for Milwaukee, expect Wells to lead off.
