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The Yankees really are running it back.
Add Paul Goldschmidt to the list of returning players to The Bronx after the Yankees agreed to a one-year deal with the veteran first baseman, sources told The Post’s Joel Sherman.
Goldschmidt gives the Yankees a right-handed bat who can fill in for lefty-swinging Ben Rice, who is expected to be the primary first baseman this season.
Goldschmidt, the 2022 National League MVP with the Cardinals, first signed with the Yankees last offseason and got off to a good start before he fell off in the second half.
But he remains solid defensively and gives the Yankees some much-needed balance in an infield that skews lefty, with Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon all hitting from the left side, along with catcher Austin Wells and outfielders Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham.
Goldschmidt also should be a valuable mentor to Rice, who is still learning how to play first base after coming up through the Yankees system primarily as a catcher — where he may still get time, along with Wells and possibly J.C. Escarra.
Although the 38-year-old Goldschmidt’s performance fell off in the second half, he still ended the season with an OPS of .981 against left-handed pitching and he can also serve as a defensive replacement for Rice.
Goldschmidt was also highly respected in the clubhouse and expressed a desire to return after the Yankees were knocked out of the playoffs.
He’ll rejoin a team that will look very similar to last year, as the Yankees’ biggest moves of the offseason have been bringing back Grisham on a qualifying offer worth just north of $22 million and re-signing Bellinger on a five-year, $162 million deal.
They’ll hope the continued development of young players like Rice and Wells, along with the return of Gerrit Cole from Tommy John surgery by midseason and a full season of their acquisitions at last year’s trade deadline will put them in position to at least get back to the postseason.
The bench now consists of Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario and perhaps Escarra and Jasson Domínguez — unless the Yankees find a right-handed bat for the outfield, since the switch-hitting Domínguez struggles from the right side and in left field.
And to start the season, José Caballero figures to fill in for Anthony Volpe at shortstop while Volpe recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
— Additional reporting by Jon Heyman
