Paul Goldschmidt clears air on injury status after early Spring Training exit
The veteran first baseman gave the Yankees a scare after a back injury forced him out of Monday’s game.
Injuries have piled up for the New York Yankees this spring. The starting rotation has been decimated while Giancaro Stanton and DJ LeMahieu have been sidelined as well. Then, on Monday, Paul Goldschmidt was forced from a spring training game with a back injury.
However, it appears the Yankees have dodged a bullet with Goldschmidt, as the veteran first baseman avoided a serious issue.
“My back has just been a little sore, so [Aaron Boone] just made the decision to stop there after three innings… I could have probably played the whole game. In Spring Training, you just try to be smart. This was probably a time [when] there’s no need to push through something and make it more sore,” Goldschmidt explained, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
The Yankees signed the four-time Gold Glove winner this offseason to a one-year, $12.5 million contract. The 37-year-old former MVP is set to start at first for the team. And he’s been raking this spring.
Goldschmidt is slashing .313/.389/.688 with three doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs scored in 13 Grapefruit League games. And he’s flashed the leather as well, making a nice diving stab on a line drive off the bat of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. before his early exit from Monday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
