What to do about LeMahieu
The 2020–2021 offseason hasn’t brought many breaking stories from The Yankees. Speculations about the future home for dynamite second baseman D.J. LaMahieu is about all we’ve got right now. The Mets have made some hefty offers but we have yet to hear a final verdict.
His tenure with the Yankees has been more than productive. Hitting for an impressive .336 over two monumental seasons where he received MVP awards in both 2019 and 2020. Could he have this same level of stardom with an underperforming Mets squad? With the uncertainty of what the divisions will look like in the 2021 season, it’s hard to guess who LaMahieu will be facing in the box, but we will most likely see the Mets stick with the National League. Meaning DJ will be hitting the likes of Strasberg, Scherzer, Soroka, and Aaron Nola. Needless to say, the NL East isn’t in dire need of pitching. LeMahieu isn’t a stranger to these names. After spending 7 years in Colorado, DJ ended with a .299 average, 49 Home Runs, and a .408 Slugging Percentage. Could we be seeing his return to a well-pitched NL?
Ever since signing LeMahieu, The Yankees have been right on the heels of a World Series appearance. Falling to an impressive Rays team in the ALDS in 2020 and a stacked Astro’s team in the ALCS in 2019. LaMahieu hit for .336 in the 2019 ALCS and .273 in the 2020 ALDS, all while facing the likes of Verlander, Cole, and Snell just to name a few. The Yankees aren’t projected to lose any big names from the starting 9 leading up to the 2021 season so it wouldn’t be a reach to say that we may be seeing another big year for the Bronx Bombers.
Assuming the Yankees lose LeMahieu, Boone will likely move Torres to second and sign a reliable shortstop for one year, biding time for a big free-agent class in the year following. We may be gearing up to see Javier Biaz, Carlos Correa, or even Trevor Story in pinstripes within the not-so-distant future, all of which will be entering the market following the 2021 season. Any of these names would bring even more bat power and fielding agility to the Yankees lineup. The possibility of this doesn’t end with LaMahieu’s relocation. Boone has played him at first for select games, setting us up to see one of these big names in the lineup all while keeping the star power of LaMahieu in the Bronx.
Sources have reported that an offer has been made by Cashman to keep LaMahieu but nothing has been settled. The offer presented was about $25 Million short of what LaMahieu was hoping for. With a new face in the Mets front office, we could see big moves being made by the cross-town rivals.
