Paul Goldschmidt gets Yankees leadoff chance vs. Brewers

The Yankees’ experiment with Paul Goldschmidt hitting leadoff turned into more than a spring training one-off.

With the Yankees facing their first left-handed starter of the season in Nestor Cortes when they resumed their series against the Brewers, manager Aaron Boone gave his Game 1 lineup a complete overhaul — and that included the 37-year-old Goldschmidt opening a game at leadoff for the first time in his career.

Goldschmidt, who inked a one-year deal in the offseason to become the Yankees’ new first baseman, hit leadoff during a March 22 Grapefruit League game against the Phillies with lefty Jesús Luzardo on the mound, but Boone was noncommittal at the time about his plan for the regular season.

On Saturday, that became clear — at least for one game.

“Not necessarily,” Boone said pregame when asked if Goldschmidt will hit leadoff against all left-handed pitchers. “Kinda depends. This is a little unique in who we’re facing and how they’re aligned and everything. … I mean, we could look up in a month or two and somebody else has kind of emerged to become the more natural leadoff spot, but we’ll see.”

Catcher Austin Wells — a left-handed hitter — led off the Yankees’ season-opening win against the Brewers on Thursday, and he launched a homer during his first at-bat.

Boone said the Yankees would’ve hit either shortstop Anthony Volpe or Goldschmidt at leadoff Saturday, and he also considered stacking righties at the top of his order.

He settled on Goldschmidt — even though Volpe started 76 games as the Yankees’ leadoff hitter in 2024 — and gave him a heads-up Friday night before sending out the order, which also included Volpe hitting fifth and Wells in the No. 6 spot.

Pablo Reyes, who earned one of the final bench spots despite opening the spring as a non-roster invitee, earned the nod at third base over Oswald Peraza and hit seventh.

Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera and designated hitter Ben Rice, both lefties, went to the bench, with switch-hitter Jasson Domínguez serving as the Yankees’ designated hitter in the No. 8 spot and lefty Trent Grisham hitting ninth while playing center.

“He’s fired up for it and ready to go,” Boone said of Goldschmidt.