David Lennon: Yankees' combo of Paul Goldschmidt, Ben Rice making up for loss of Giancarlo Stanton
Yankees first basemen Paul Goldschmidt, left, and Ben Rice. Credit: Getty Images/Ezra Shaw
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Because it’s the World-Series-or-bust Yankees, finding defects in a $340 million roster tends to be a favorite first-half pastime, especially with a two-month runway to the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
But how many teams can lose Giancarlo Stanton, a former MVP with 465 home runs, and essentially replace him by deploying another former MVP with 378 homers in Paul Goldschmidt?
Sure, the catcher position remains a zero at the plate, a lingering issue that likely will have to be addressed come July. And the bottom third of the order can vanish without warning.
But during the past few weeks, since Stanton took his annual medical leave with a calf strain, the Yankees found a way to get better, with a big boost from the 38-year-old Goldschmidt, who was brought back on a bargain one-year, $4 million deal.
Not only has Goldschmidt displayed some timely power with his bat, but the ability to use slugging prodigy Ben Rice as Stanton’s replacement at DH allows for the four-time Gold Glover to be a defensive upgrade at first base.
Despite that successful formula, the potent Goldschmidt-Rice combo, or anyone else for that matter, never really swung the bat in a meaningful spot Saturday night to bail out Ryan Weathers in the Yankees’ 6-4 loss to the A’s at Sutter Health Park.
Weathers (10 strikeouts) pitched better than the final score indicated but got nicked by three homers, including a two-out, two-run shot by Nick Kurtz that gave the A’s a 5-1 lead in the seventh inning and ended the lefty’s night.
Still, the Yankees rallied back during a wild ninth, as A’s reliever Scott Barlow stunningly allowed three consecutive bases-loaded walks — all on full counts with two outs — to Rice, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger. Barlow threw 24 pitches and the Yankees swung at only one of his first 23 before Jazz Chisholm Jr. slapped a 2-and-2 fastball to first base for the game-ending groundout.
“Put up a good fight,” said Ryan McMahon, whose one-out single ignited the ninth-inning rally. “Can’t win ‘em all, but it was good to at least put some pressure on them. Show them that we’re never out of any game.”
Said Aaron Boone, “Just a lot of real patient, quality at-bats, forcing them to come into the zone. Love the finish. Just couldn’t quite get over the hump there.”
The Yankees’ only other run came in the fourth inning on a pair of consecutive Little League-caliber throwing errors generated by Chisholm’s steal of second base.
Weathers shouldn’t have been surprised. The Yankees hadn’t scored in five of his previous 10 starts, leaving him with MLB’s third-lowest run support (2.95 per start).
“I put them in a bad spot — I gave up two runs in the first,” Weathers said. “This is a game of momentum. If we don’t score, I gotta put up a zero. I gave them momentum early and I just can’t do that.”
After Weathers teed up Shea Langeliers’ home run in the first inning, he retired 19 of the next 24 batters, allowing only two walks and a pair of singles, one a 51-mph roller up the third-base line. Weathers struck out eight during that stretch before Tyler Soderstrom crushed a high fastball for a solo homer in the sixth.
“There were a lot of positives tonight,” Weathers said. “Obviously, those three swings were the glaring negatives that really do stink as a pitcher. Just gotta move on from it.”
Before Saturday night’s rare lapse, the Rice-Goldschmidt dynamic had been driving the Yankees’ hyper-productive offense — an unexpected fringe benefit of Stanton’s stay on the shelf.
On Friday, Rice went 4-for-5 with an RBI double and his 17th home run in the Yankees’ 8-2 victory, their fifth straight. Goldschmidt, making his 25th start at first base, hammered a three-run homer in the first inning to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead that grew from there. He was hitting .262 with six homers, 18 RBIs and an .870 OPS in his last 32 games — a sizable chunk of the team’s first 57 games total.
Having another veteran on a Cooperstown trajectory never hurts. Since April 24, the date of Stanton’s last swing, the Yankees entered Saturday leading the majors in slugging percentage (.456), OPS (.793) and homers (47). They were third in batting average (.254) and on-base percentage (.336), and their 154 runs were the fourth-most in MLB.
Rice and Judge are neck and neck as the primary engines of this pinstripe locomotive; each entered Saturday with eight homers and 19 RBIs in this 31-game span. But Goldschmidt isn’t very far behind, hitting five homers and driving in 15 runs, and also leads the Yankees with a .952 OPS in that stretch.
“The guy’s a Hall of Famer,” Judge said. “He’s a guy that I’ve tried to pick his brain a lot. He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever been around.
“You can never replace Big G, obviously. But having Ben Rice DHing and Goldie still at first, it’s working out so far.”
Goldschmidt’s impact on Rice alone is worth double his salary, both as a defensive mentor at first base and for his input in the batter’s box. Take a glance at their early career tracks, too. On Friday, Rice hit his 50th career homer in his 240th game, and only four Yankees have accomplished that feat in fewer games. He has a career slash line of .250/.336/.507 with 127 RBIs. Goldschmidt had 40 homers through his first 240 games, a slash line of .285/.363/.509 and 144 RBIs. When Goldschmidt looks at Rice, he sees the reflection of his younger self.
“Those traits are more than just the stats,” Goldschmidt said. “It’s his work ethic and how focused he is. He’s a very, very smart player. He’s got the ability to make adjustments and continue to improve because when you have success, you know the other teams are always going to be looking for your weaknesses. If you don’t adapt, you’re going to be in a hole . . . So I think when you see those characteristics that he has, it at least provides the opportunity for a lot of long-term success.”
The Yankees have done a great job of turning this position group into one of the sport’s most dangerous lineups. We’ve repeatedly pointed out in this space that Rice has taken over the Judge sidekick role left vacant by Juan Soto’s defection to the Mets. The two share the team lead with 17 home runs, good for third in the majors.
“It’s been fun to watch his growth from his first game here to where he is now,” Judge said. “It’s must-watch TV when he steps up to the plate.”
The entire Yankees offense had been a spectacle lately. Unfortunately for Weathers, just not when he’s on the mound.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
