San Francisco Giants Lose Out on Paul Goldschmidt to New York Yankees

The San Francisco Giants were interested in one of the best first baseman of his generation, but now he's heading to New York.

Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants were reported on Friday by Bob Nightengale to have been engaged in talks with free agent first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, but they have apparently lost out to the New York Yankees.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Yankees and Goldschmidt have agreed to terms on a one-year contract worth $12.5 million

Goldschmidt's market was beginning to heat up after the top first baseman available came off the board on Friday when the Houston Astros agreed to terms on a three-year deal with now former Arizona Diamondbacks Gold Glover Christian Walker.

It was unlikely the Giants were ever going to be in on the top of the market first baseman like Walker and Pete Alonso, but seeing that San Francisco had interest in someone like Goldschmidt is not much of a shock.

Reports throughout the offseason has indicated the Giants are going to look to trade away current first baseman Lamonte Wade Jr. on the heels what was a far from remarkable season from the six-year veteran.

Goldschmidt on the other hand is coming off the worst season of his career offensively, but he is still just two years removed from arguably the best season of his decorated career and his first-ever National League MVP award.

Perhaps most impressive and attractive about Goldschmidt is the fact that even though his numbers have begun to decline in the last two seasons, he can always be relied upon to stay on the field.

Goldschmidt has not played less than 150 games in a full season in a decade and has never played in less than 100 games in a single season that he was a full time MLB player in his 14-year career (excluding shortened 2020 season).

The St. Louis Cardinals legend was reported by Nightengale to have a fairly strong market, however. The New York Yankees were seen as the favorite and that's the way it went, but Nightengale in addition to San Francisco named the Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, and New York Mets all as teams who were having talks with the seven-time All-Star.

If the Giants really do want to move off of Wade Jr. — a deal that would likely net at least some sort of decent return — bringing in a veteran like Goldschmidt on a one-year deal as a stopgap to the next franchise third baseman, all but guaranteed to be top prospect Bryce Eldridge. Now, they will have to turn elsewhere

Eldridge is not expected to be a full-time Major Leaguer until 2026, but the opportunity for a September call-up and have him be mentored by a veteran is something that should intrigue the Giants. Keep an eye on San Francisco for the remainder of the winter if they could try to turn elsewhere to land someone at first.