DJ LeMahieu, the soft-spoken football player who for two seasons was the most productive player in the New York Yankees, on Friday morning was close to an agreement to re-sign with the Yankees, according to sources close to the LeMahieu family.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network first reported on progress. The terms of the deal were not known, although LeMahieu sought a contract in the range of $ 110 million over five years.
At 32, and after playing these two seasons under the friendly conditions of $ 12 million per team, LeMahieu hit the market as easily the best second-base player available. Also the best third baseman. And the best first baseman. He played in all three positions for the Yankees, although mostly in second base, and over two seasons – 195 games – he hit 0.336 with 36 home runs, 43 doubles and 0.922 OPS. He was fourth in the American League MVP vote in 2019 and third in 2020. LeMahieu also hit 0.306 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 16 postseason games.
“I want to stay here,” LeMahieu told reporters when his contract was expiring. “I already said that a few times.”
It attracted the interest of a large number of teams during what is becoming a long winter for free agents, including top players. Although in the past few days he has grown tired of the pace and even instructed his representatives to start deeper conversations with teams other than the Yankees, LeMahieu seemed destined to return to the Bronx.
The Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, among others, are believed to have some interest.
New York and LeMahieu combine. Yankees fans have fallen for quiet, professional and aggressive LeMahieu. Even LeMahieu’s batting approach – he is a right-handed hitter – seemed built for Yankee Stadium. Twenty-seven of his 36 home runs as a Yankee were hit at home, and 17 of them were hit on the right field of the stadium, their opposite field.
LeMahieu proved his worth in New York
There was a complicating factor for the Yankees, who have not been to a World Series since 2009, finished second for the Tampa Bay Rays at AL East in 2020 and were eliminated by the Rays in October: payroll and problems elsewhere on the list .
Its initial release is long in depth, but short in history, in addition to Gerrit Cole and, to some extent, Luis Severino. James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and JA Happ are free agents. It also looked like they would have to update on the shortstop, although Gleyber Torres would only be 24 in December and could certainly play back to 2019 levels. The issue was Torres’ defense, which was below average as a replacement for Didi Gregorius. He’s better at second base. The Yankees would likely negotiate for the newly acquired Mets star Francisco Lindor, or sign an intermediate stop along the lines of Andrelton Simmons.
The Yankees ‘payroll was about $ 265 million in 2020 before players’ salaries were prorated. About $ 132 million is scheduled in 2021 for eight players – Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino, Aaron Judge and Adam Ottavino. With Gary Sanchez returning as a catcher after a difficult season and behind the plate, that’s $ 140 million for nine players. The luxury tax limit is $ 210 million. There has been some speculation about whether this would leave enough room for LeMahieu, who appears to be in line for a four or five year contract well above his previous $ 12 million annual fee.
He spent seven seasons at the Colorado Rockies and Coors Field, the hitters’ paradise that is difficult to replicate at the other 29 stadiums. This presumably affected the LeMahieu market two years ago, although LeMahieu was not a Coors Field product, but simply an excellent hitter. His numbers like Yankee are better than Colorado’s in all aspects, including batting average, base percentage and batting.
In fact, in 2020, four years after winning the National League hitting title with an average of 0.348 for the Rocky Mountains, LeMahieu hit 0.344 for the Yankees and became the first player in the modern era to win a hitting title. in both leagues.
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