New York Yankees won’t have to overpay DJ LeMahieu with new terms

New York Yankees, DJ LeMahieu
USA Today

The New York Yankees have made it a priority to re-sign star infielder DJ LeMahieu in the coming weeks, but as free agency slowly blossoms into his normal self, the rumors will continue to flow that other teams are interested in bidding for his services.

Of course, after two incredible seasons in pinstripes, LeMahieu was going to attract attention from other suitors, but he made it clear that staying with the Yankees is his desire. In 2020, he played in 50 of 60 total regular-season games, finishing with a league-high .364 batting average, 10 homers, and 27 RBIs. He had a career-best 9.7% strike out rate and walked 8.3% of the time, his highest since 2017 (Fangraphs).

While the sample size was small, LeMahieu proved once again that he deserves a long-term extension. However, I don’t believe the Yankees are going to have to overpay for his services, as others have suggested with competition looming. As an infielder who can play second base and first base, his value remains high after age takes it’s an evitable toll.

The New York Yankees need to settle for years over money:

At 32 years old, LeMahieu is no spring chicken, but he has plenty of years left to play at a high-level. There is a belief that he could earn upwards of $20 million per season, but he already stated he would accept less money to stay in the Bronx.

The only issue with LeMahieu’s future deal is that he wants a five-year contract, and the Yankees could pull it off by offering him $20 million per season with a fifth-year vesting option.

The Yankees are already on the hook for multiple long-term contracts, including Giancarlo Stanton and GGerritry Cole. They also have six years left on Aaron Hicks’ contract, but it isn’t too pricey. Combined, Stanton and Cole will earn a whopping $65 million next year, more than the entire Tampa Bay Rays payroll by a large margin.

Coughing up another significant contract is not an ideal scenario considering the team lost the most money of any squad this past season due to COVID-19 restrictions. Nonetheless, they have multiple starters hitting free agency, opening up plenty of cap to sign LeMahieu on a long-term deal.

I don’t think his contract is going to blow any minds in terms of money per year, but they will give him the years in exchange for a lower price point, which the Yankees should jump on considering the value he offers the team.