One of the question marks for the Minnesota Twins is who will be the starting first baseman in 2025. The Twins are still open to a return for Gold Glover Carlos Santana, but Arizona’s Jake McCarthy is a coveted free agent who makes sense for the team. On Monday, Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer listed Paul Goldschmidt as the Twins’ “realistic free-agent signing.”
Goldschmidt’s 14-year career with the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals has been Hall-of-Fame worthy. With 62.8 bWAR, Goldschmidt was a pillar of consistency at the first base position. At 34 years old, Goldschmidt tore through the National League with a league-leading SLG of .578 and OPS+ of 177 in 2022 for St. Louis, winning the Most Valuable Player award.
Since that dominant 2022 season, Goldschmidt has yet to come close to replicating that production level. Last season saw Goldschmidt produce career lows with a slash line of .245/.302/.414 and an OPS+ of 98. It was his first season with an OPS+ below 100, and Goldschmidt’s lowest bWAR (1.3) was his lowest since his rookie year.
Why would the Minnesota Twins consider signing Paul Goldschmidt?
According to Rymer, Goldschmidt will not be an expensive free agent, citing his age and declining production from the last two years. In addition, Goldschmidt fills both the right-handed bat the Twins need and someone who takes over first base next season. Signing Goldschmidt to a one-year “prove-it” contract would be a low-risk maneuver for the Twins, especially given the 142 million dollar payroll for 2025.
If the Twins choose not to re-sign Santana, a contract for Goldschmidt must be in consideration for next season. Even at age 37, Goldschmidt still had another season of 30+ doubles and 20+ home runs. However, despite being the older of the two first basemen, Santana would be the better option between Goldschmidt and Santana. After all, Santana produced 2.3 bWAR, a 109 OPS, and better defense than Goldschmidt.
Signing Goldschmidt might be nostalgic, given how well he has performed the last fourteen years, and it would fill a need at first base. That said, given Santana’s great 2024 season in Minnesota, the Twins might be better off trying to re-sign Santana over Goldschmidt.