NFL
By Billy Lewis
The New York Yankees are coming off of a disappointing 2020 season. The Yankees lost in the ALDS to the eventual American League pennant winner, the Tampa Bay Rays. Unlike last year with Gerrit Cole, this offseason doesn’t have a “must-have” Yankee free-agent target.
Enter DJ LeMahieu. When LeMahieu first signed after the 2018 season, fans were distraught because they thought the signing took them out of the Manny Machado sweepstakes. Though in the end, Machado went to the San Diego Padres, the LeMahieu signing proved to be a stroke of genius.
In two seasons in New York LeMahieu has done nothing but perform. He entered 2019 as a backup infielder, but following injuries to Didi Gregorius, Miguel Andujar, and Troy Tulowitzki, LeMahieu became a staple in the Yankee lineup.
LeMahieu would have a career year in 2019. He hit a career-high 26 home runs while driving in a career-high 102 RBIs. He also added a top-five MVP finish to his resume, finishing fourth in the voting.
The Yankees ended 2019 in a heartbreaking fashion. Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS will be remembered for Jose Altuve hitting a walk-off home run off of Aroldis Chapman to send the Astros to the World Series.
What set up Altuve’s pennant-winning bomb? One of the greatest at-bats that will be forgotten in Major League Baseball history. With the Yankees down 4-2 in the 9th inning, LeMahieu went up against Astro’s closer Roberto Osuna. LeMahieu battled for 10 pitches against Osuna. LeMahieu sent the 10th pitch into the right-field seats to tie the game 4-4.
LeMahieu’s 2020 & Beyond
LeMahieu took his 2019 and carried it into 2020. Slated as the everyday second baseman, LeMahieu would make history in this odd season of 2020. He ended the year as the American League Batting Champion hitting .364. It was the second batting title in his career, he won in 2016 with the Rockies hitting .348. The 2020 batting title made DJ the first player to win the batting title in both leagues.
According to Jack Curry, LeMahieu and his agent will be looking for a contract in the five-year, $100 million range.
The latest on DJ LeMahieu from @flash17yes & @JackCurryYES. pic.twitter.com/uIp7BVFqha
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) December 4, 2020
John Flaherty also mentions how the Yankees might tell DJ to shop himself around but to come back to them at the end so they could possibly match or beat his best offer.
DJ turned 32 in July, so some think a five-year deal may be too long. However, I believe LeMahieu is a perfect candidate to give a contract into his mid-thirties. DJ is an old school style ballplayer. He is not your prototypical power hitter like Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton.
LeMahieu should age gracefully as a ballplayer. He’s a great overall hitter that sprays line drives all over the field. $20 million may sound like a lot for the next five years when you consider Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton are due to make $36 million and $29 million respectively. What DJ brings to the field and clubhouse would make that $20 million well worth it.
It looks as though the smart money is on LeMahieu to return to the Yankees. He has been the perfect Yankee the past two seasons and has enjoyed his time in the Bronx. Hopefully, the Yankees saddle up and keep DJ in the Bronx.
