Paul Goldschmidt might be pulling a reverse Juan Soto.
The San Diego Padres have emerged as a potential landing spot for the former NL MVP Goldschmidt, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported this week. Goldschmidt remains an unsigned free agent with just two weeks to go now before the start of spring training.
A righty-hitting first baseman, Goldschmidt is a seven-time career MLB All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner and a four-time Gold Glove honoree (in addition to his 2022 MVP win with the St. Louis Cardinals). But Goldschmidt was far less effective in 2025 for the New York Yankees, his first season there.
Last year, Goldschmidt batted .274 with a meager 10 home runs and 45 RBIs over 146 total games. His defense at first also continued to slide as Goldschmidt posted a career-worst defensive WAR of -1.2 in 2025.
But the Padres do have a fresh need at first base. For one, Luis Arraez, their regular first baseman last season, just signed with a rival team in free agency last week.
Goldschmidt spent the first eight seasons of his MLB career in the NL West with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now it sounds like he could potentially be returning to the division with the Padres (albeit if they do not get beat out by another known suitor for Goldschmidt instead).