During the New York Yankees‘ 2020 season, he not only proved that his 2019 season (in which he led the team with 5.4 fWAR) was no fluke, but he also cemented his place as one of the most respected stars in a clubhouse full of them. Yankees’ players got a very close look about how good the infielder is.
Young players in the bigs (and even in the alternate training site) like and respect the talented veteran. One of them is Clint Frazier, who had a message for New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman: bring the man back for the 2021 season.
“I need DJ to come back because he and I just started developing a good relationship,’’ Frazier said on Bucky Dent’s “Deep to Left†podcast (link to the New York Post article). “By that I mean pouring information into your head, having a lot more in-depth conversations.â€
LeMahieu’s contributions to the Yankees have been huge
As you can see, LeMahieu’s impact on the Yankees goes well beyond his own contributions on the field, which are enormous (he did, after all, lead the major leagues in the shortened 2020 season with a .364 batting average.) He cares about the organization and its members, and has developed a bond with some of the young players.
And Frazier believes that LeMahieu deserves to earn his payday, since he has given the Yankees two seasons of elite production.
“He’s about to get paid because of the way he went about his routine in such a good way and developed, dude, into like the best player in Major League Baseball that I’ve seen,†Frazier said.
There are several teams looking to swoop in and sign LeMahieu from the Yankees, including the Toronto Blue Jays, the Washington Nationals, and even the New York Mets. However, he remains the Yankees’ top priority in an otherwise slow offseason.