Yankees' free agent pursuit of Paul Goldschmidt gets update involving NL West competition

The New York Yankees are still going after Paul Goldschmidt in free agency.

Turns out their biggest competition may be from the NL West, but not Goldy's former team in Arizona.

The New York Post's Jon Heyman reports the San Diego Padres are the team challenging the Yankees most heavily for Goldschmidt at this point.

The Yanks want Goldschmidt to add a right-handed bat to a lefty-heavy lineup.

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Goldschmidt played for the Yankees in 2025 for the first time. He turned 38 years old in September.

The slugging first baseman is a seven-time All Star and a former MVP. In his career, he's a .288 hitter with an .884 OPS and 372 home runs.

Goldschmidt previously signed with the Yankees on a one-year, $12.5 million deal before the 2025 season. 

For the Yanks, Goldy batted .274 with a .731 OPS. Just against lefties, though, his OPS was .981.

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Of course, that's a useful skill to a lot more than just the Yankees. The Padres could definitely benefit from Goldy's ability from the right side of the plate, as well as his veteran leadership.

The two clubs feel different enough that this could also come down to a Goldschmidt preference. Does he want to live on the East Coast or West Coast? Which league and division does he want to play in?

Goldy will get a chance to play somewhere this season, and the baseball world is still just waiting to find out where.

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