It’s been a while since the days of Lou Gehrig, or even Don Mattingly, or even Tino Martinez. From 2018, when the bright hope that was Greg Bird began to fade, through the end of last season, the Yankees accrued the 18th-best fWAR at first. It’s an offense-first position, and the club was 19th by wRC+. Indeed, one of the ways you could argue the Yankees haven’t been a home run-or-bust club in this era is because the main power position has been so impotent.
They signed veteran Paul Goldschmidt over
the winter to be some kind of respite from veterans Anthony Rizzo and DJ LeMahieu, correctly realizing that the 77 wRC+ first base production last year was the lowest of low hanging fruit — only the Rockies and Reds got worse output from the spot in 2024. Following a scalding-hot start to the season, Goldschmidt hasn’t been great, but a 108 mark on the whole is a damn sight better than what they were getting last season — especially on a one-year deal that the Yankees should be happy to let lapse and wish Goldy the best.
Then there’s the emergence of Ben Rice, his 133 wRC+ and a strikeout rate of 20.1 percent. He’s actually only played 31 games at first this season, something that with hindsight the Yankees should have done differently, but at least he seems to be an everyday player for the season’s final stretch. The fact that he can adequately play catcher has made him one of the more valuable long-term pieces on the roster, especially with Austin Wells’ near-complete collapse as an offensive threat.
The Yankees are rightfully criticized for building a pretty inflexible roster. They didn’t have a third baseman entering the year and had to give up prospect capital for Ryan McMahon. Until they traded for José Caballero they didn’t have a real option to replace Anthony Volpe — even though now that they do have Cabby, they should use him at that spot more than they are.
For the season’s final month, a true platoon probably becomes the best path forward. Goldschmidt still destroys lefties, to the tune of a 212 wRC+, but plummets right back down to a 71 facing right-handed pitching. Austin Wells is pretty much that bad (six points better!) which says a lot about his collapse, but excellent framing and strong blocking give him the edge in these games. You then have Ben Rice at first, with him then moving behind the plate facing lefties.
They didn’t do that on Thursday night against righty Davis Martin, which admittedly might just be an indictment of Wells. As the Yankees need every win they can get, that true platoon above I think works best, veteran presence be damned. Goldschmidt has made good on the $12 million deal the Yankees gave him, but for the most critical games remaining, use him for what he’s best at.
As for Rice, I still remember Greg Bird, and how we thought the torch had been passed from Mark Teixeira to the first baseman of the next decade. Nothing in baseball is permanent, but for the Yankees to thread the needle on both the immediate and medium-term needs at a position they needed to fix in one go doesn’t happen very often.
