Last week, I wrote a bit about veteran experience with the Colorado Rockies. As a young team looking to figure out its future under an unknown new head of baseball operations (unless they have already
announced it by the time you are reading this), there is a place for veterans to help lead this team. Ideally, I concluded that it would be a proven player(s) that can post up in the lineup most every day and be productive in the lineup. A player with a consistent and proven track record of success is what the Rockies have always needed, rather than the player who had one good season back in 2021.
Now, we have no idea how much anything will change under a new head person in the front office or what the plan will be in free agency heading into the offseason. However, if the Rockies are going to look for experience at a couple of their pseudo-open positions (first base and second base), then one name that sticks out as a decent enough stopgap would be Paul Goldschmidt.
Yes, I know Goldschmidt is counter-productive and far too consistent with the bad moves the Rockies have made over the years. He’s 38 years old, is not quite the offensive threat he used to be, and the Rockies could obviously spend their money elsewhere. By no means am I saying they should absolutely sign him for the 2026 season, but hey, at least we can think about the “what if” of it all.
Drafted in the eighth round by the Arizona Diamondbacks back in 2009, Goldschmidt has easily become one of the best first basemen of his generation. In his career, he has slashed .288/.378/.504, good for a 137 wRC+, with 372 home runs and 1,232 RBI over 2,073 career games while accumulating 63.8 rWAR.
His resume is filled with plenty of awards and accolades over his 15 seasons in the big leagues, which is a valuable track record of success. If you want an experienced big leaguer to be in your clubhouse, you could do far worse than Goldschmidt when it comes to free agency considerations.
He enters free agency coming off a down year by his standards. Playing with the New York Yankees, Goldschmidt batted .274/.328/.403 in 145 games with 10 home runs, but still posted a rather league-average 103 wRC+. He got off to an incredibly strong start to the season, batting .338 in 232 plate appearances through the end of May and posting a 148 wRC+. However, he then hit just .143 in 94 plate appearances in June, but was able to hit .261 from July through the end of the year, which was good for just an 87 wRC+.
As Goldschmidt has gotten older and his power numbers have been in flux, he has adopted more of a contact-heavy approach this season. He cut his strikeout rate from 26.5% to 18.7% and made contact on 86.0% of pitches in the strike zone, up from 79.8% in 2024. Generally, Goldschmidt has boasted a league-average strikeout rate in his career and has struck out at least 170 times just twice in his career. His walk rate has declined over the last two seasons, but he still posted something close to a league-average in that department.
So how could the Rockies use him?
Well, the obvious answer is that you sign Goldschmidt and hope that he can play almost every day at first base. Defensively, he is still quite sound at the position. A four-time Gold Glove winner, most recently in 2021, he was valued, he was valued at -1 Defensive Runs Saved, tied for ninth among qualified first basemen, as well as -3 Outs Above Average, which ranked 13th in 1,029 innings at first base. Statcast was a little harsher, giving him a 33rd-percentile Fielding Run Value. Still, he’s more than stable at handling the position, especially with a good infield defense.
However, expecting Goldschmidt to post up every day in Colorado is tough to expect. Not only is his age a factor, but the toll of playing at the higher elevation is as well. Still, that could prove advantageous if the Rockies utilized him in a platoon role.
In 168 plate appearances against southpaws this year, Goldschmidt batted .336/.411/.570 with a strikeout rate of 11.3% and a 169 wRC+. He would likely still get appearances against righties, but that could be limited if the Rockies found a worthy piece to platoon at first base with him.
Of course, there is also the fact that Goldschmidt has loved hitting at Coors Field. In 81 career games, he has slashed .334/.419/.606 with 18 home runs and driven in 81 runs. In fact, he has hit well in all the National League West ballparks and as well as the teams that occupy them, boasting at least a .280 AVG against all five teams.
Goldschmidt would also come cheaper than the prices of Josh Naylor or Pete Alonso on the market. His age and production decline would likely command just a one-year deal again, and Spotrac projects his market value somewhere in the ballpark of $7 million after he earned over $12 million in 2025.
I could see a scenario where Goldschmidt makes sense for the Rockies. He’s a proven leader with a track record of success over a consistent career and would be the type of veteran that could help mentor a young core of position players in the ways of playing winning baseball. However, his best years are behind him, and even if the Rockies wanted him, I doubt he’d want to come to Colorado when there could be other attractive destinations to try and win a World Series title.
Still, if there is an opportunity that he is available as an option for the team while they wait for Charlie Condon to become ready, it wouldn’t be the end of the world to pick him up. The team just can’t bank on him being the carrier of the lineup that they need, because they need much more than that at this point in time.
Arizona Fall League
Salt River Rafters 7, Mesa Solar Sox 0 (Game 1)
A two-out RBI single from Charlie Condon was the highlight for him during a six-run top of the seventh for the Salt River Rafters in their win. He went 1-for-4 in the game with two strikeouts, while Braylen Wimmer got the start at third base, where he went 1-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Mesa Solar Sox 6, Salt River Rafters 3 (Game 2)
A four-run bottom of the sixth netted the Mesa Solar Sox the victory in the second game of the afternoon. Condon went 1-for-2 with a run scored alongside a strikeout and a walk. Thomas also went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two strikeouts. Braylen Wimmer had one at-bat in the game as a substitute, going 0-for-1.
Affected by Altitude Episode 184: Decisions, Decisions | Rocky Mountain Rooftop
In this episode of the podcast, Evan Lang and I talk about the reported candidates for the Rockies’ new head of operations while also wondering if they are taking enough time with this monumental decision. We also still hate the Dodgers.
Underdog Wimmer looking to turn heads in AFL | MLB.com
Wimmer has quietly been doing well as an under-the-radar prospect in the Rockies’ system. Now, he’s getting a chance to showcase his skills a bit more while playing against other top prospects in the AFL.
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