The New York Yankees are gearing up for a historically strange 2021 off-season, simply due to COVID-19 and the financial implications the virus had on baseball. After shutting down operations in March, nothing returned to normal, with the MLB implementing a 60 game season that cut revenues significantly.
Despite the Yankees losing their financial flexibility this off-season, they have plenty of money opening up in various different ways. That opens up the door for multiple avenues in free agency.
One of the more interesting decisions revolves around DJ LeMahieu and recent rumor suggesting that GM Brian Cashman could acquire Francisco Lindor through a trade. Of course, if you’ve been a Yankee fan for more than two seasons, you know how often Lindor and the Bombers are attached during the off-season. These rumors have been circulating for years now, and it was never a question they wouldn’t resurface in 2020.
The New York Yankees can go one of two ways:
Ultimately, the Yankees can go one of two ways, either they retain LeMahieu on an extension or acquire Lindor through a trade. Let’s go through the first option and what it would entail.
LeMahieu is set to cash in after rejecting the Yankees’ qualifying offer. He would’ve earned $18.9 million over one year, but he is seeking a long-term deal worth over $20 million per season. He could, in fact, double his earnings per season moving forward. The Yankees previously signed him to a two-year, $24 million deal in 2019. He performed well above expectations and will now take advantage of those numbers.
Retaining him will be expensive, but if there is any player worth the money, it is DJ. He is consistent on both sides of the ball and rarely gets injured. He missed a few games this past season but returned prematurely and still manage to put together above-average numbers.
This would be the easy move, as we all know the value LeMahieu holds and what he brings to the team on a daily basis. However, it leaves shortstop Gleyber Torres in a spot of inadequacy. Torres struggled at his new position this year, missing on routine plays regularly. The Yankees still feel there is untapped potential with Gleyber at the position, and it will take time for him to develop, but they have the World Series on their mind now, and having a problem at shortstop is simply unacceptable.
Lindor offers another solution, as he would replace Torres at shortstop and cement him at second base. The Yankees would essentially be trading one bonafide star for another. The only issue, they will have to give Lindor a hefty contract and prospects and players to the Cleveland Indians in return.
Any deal involving the Indians and Lindor would have to include Miguel Andujar and a high-level prospect, but it would be worth the value based on Lindor’s impressive o qualities. This past season, he hit .258 with eight homers and 27 RBIs. Despite the small sample size, this was his worst season to date. In 2019, he hit .284 with 32 homers and 74 RBIs. He has a solid strike out right that hovers is around 15%.
In addition, Francisco logged a 4.4 WAR in 2019 and 7.6 in 2018. Defensively, he’s one of the best in the game, committing just one error and turning 29 double plays over 58 games this past season. Coming to a Yankees team that focuses primarily on sluggers, he might even increase his HR potential.
From this perspective, both moves undoubtedly improve the infield, but I think they will stick with a more familiar approach and re-sign LeMahieu to a significant deal. Loyalty is worth something, after all.