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DJ LeMahieu, the soft-spoken infielder who was the New York Yankees’ most productive player for two seasons, was approaching a deal to re-sign with the Yankees on Friday morning, sources familiar with of the LeMahieu family.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi first reported on progress. Terms of the deal were not known, although LeMahieu was seeking a contract in the order of $ 110 million over five years.
At 32, and having played those two seasons under favorable conditions for the $ 12 million team, LeMahieu hit the market as easily as the best second baseman available. Also the best third baseman. And the best first baseman. He played all three positions for the Yankees, although mostly on second base, and over the course of two seasons – 195 games – hit .336 with 36 homers, 43 doubles and a .922 OPS. He was fourth in the American League MVP poll in 2019 and third in 2020. LeMahieu also hit .306 with three homers and 11 RBIs in 16 playoff games.
“I want to stay here,” LeMahieu told reporters as his contract expired. “I have said this several times.”
It has attracted the interest of a large handful of teams during what is turning out to be a long winter for free agents, including top players. Although in recent days he has grown weary of the pace and even ordered his reps to engage in 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, would have some interest.
New York and LeMahieu match. Yankees fans fell in love with LeMahieu who was calm, professional and hard-hitting. Even LeMahieu’s approach to batting – he’s a right-handed hitter – seemed built for Yankee Stadium. Twenty-seven of his 36 home runs as a Yankee have been hit at home, and 17 of them have been hit on the stadium’s short right court, his opposite field.
LeMahieu proved himself in New York
There was a complicating factor for the Yankees, who haven’t made a World Series since 2009, finished second behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East in 2020 and were eliminated by the Rays in October: Payroll, and issues elsewhere on the list.
Their starting pitch is long on the depth but short on the track, past Gerrit Cole and, to some extent, Luis Severino. James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and JA Happ are free agents. It also emerged that they would need to level up on shortstop, although Gleyber Torres would only be turning 24 in December and could certainly return to 2019 levels. The problem was Torres’ defense, which was poor replacing Didi Gregorius. He’s better at second base. The Yankees were just as likely to trade for newly acquired Mets star Francisco Lindor or sign a mid-level shortstop in the direction of Andrelton Simmons.
The Yankees’ payroll was around $ 265 million in 2020 before player salaries were prorated. Around $ 132 million is slated in 2021 for eight players – Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton, Aaron Hicks, Luis Severino, Aaron Judge and Adam Ottavino. With Gary Sanchez back on receiver after a tough season at and behind the plate, that’s $ 140 million for nine players. The luxury tax threshold is $ 210 million. There has been speculation whether this leaves enough room for LeMahieu, who appears to be in line for a four or five-year contract well above his previous rate of $ 12 million per year.
He had spent seven seasons with the Colorado Rockies and at Coors Field, a batting paradise difficult to replicate in the other 29 ball fields. Presumably, this dampened LeMahieu’s market two years ago, although it turned out that LeMahieu was not a Coors Field product but rather, and simply, a great hitter. His numbers as a Yankee are better than Colorado’s in every way, including batting average, baseline percentage and shots.
In fact, in 2020, four years after winning the National League batting title with an average of .348 for the Rockies, LeMahieu hit .364 for the Yankees and became the first player in the modern era to win. a batting title in both leagues.
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