The New York Yankees have been in negotiations with batting champ DJ LeMahieu for over two months. It now looks as if the slugger will be in a Yankee uniform again. Jon Morosi of MLB.com and Fox Sports reports the Yankees and LeMahieu are now finalizing a deal to keep the star in pinstripes for years to come. Yahoo Sports has also reported the deal is near complete.
No details of the agreement have been released, but EmpireSportsMedia.com will have them for you as soon as they are available. Morosi, an on-air personality with MLB Network, also stated that the deal could be completed as early as today.
Yesterday I published a report that MLBExecutiveBurner tweeted on his account to expect Yankee news tomorrow. MLBExecutiveBurner @HotStoveintel is a front office MLB executive, so he must have some knowledge of pending signings or moves the Yankees may be making today. This must be that news only a day late.
It will be interesting to see what the deal entails. According to all reports, LeMahieu has been holding out for a five-year deal to take him to age 37. The Yankees originally wanted a three year deal in the neighborhood of $75. According to what you want to believe, the two sides were either $25 or $50 million apart in the negotiations.
Recently LeMahieu became frustrated with the New York Yankee’s slowness to come to terms and asked his agent, the Wasserman group, to reengage with other teams that were interested in him. Reportedly the Toronto Blue Jays were hot after him, along with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox were also mentioned as suitors.
In the past several days and weeks, even fellow Yankee players have been making statements that the Yankees need LeMahieu back with the team. Just two days ago, Luke Voit joined in on the chorus:
“We need him, I think he’s the best hitter in baseball. I’m literally sitting next to a printer right now and it makes me think of DJ because he’s a freaking machine. We need him! I think DJ deserves a lot and I know he wants to be a Yankee,†Voit said. “But I’m sure there’s 4 or 5 other teams that would love to have him too.â€
Many fans and probably the New York Yankee front office thought it would be difficult for LeMahieu to repeat his stellar 2019 season, but he did and did it with even better results. The 32-year old second baseman slashed .364/.421/.590 with 10 home runs and a 177 wRC+ in 2020, winning a Silver Slugger Award and the best batting average title, besting his 2019 and showing the Yankees that he still has a lot in the tank.
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