DJ LeMahieu is one of the most known players in New York right now. After hitting .364 with an OPS of 1.011, winning the American league batting title, the Silver Slugger and finishing third in MVP voting in 2020 for the Yankees, the 32 year old entered free agency after the season. The gap between the Yankees and DJ LeMahieu is currently $25M. LeMahieu is looking for a 5 year deal but the Yankees are standing their ground and holding their offer at 4 years. Normally I would be yelling at Hal to stop being cheap and just hand him the blank check but, I agree with him on this one. If the Yankees can get DJ at their price then great, sign him, I’m not completely against re-signing him. BUT, I think if they are going to budge and sign a FA for a 5 year deal at $20M/Year, that money should go towards George Springer. In my eyes I don’t see DJ regressing too much because he hits for contact, but I believe the Yankees don’t feel that Torres is their shortstop in the future and will be moved to 2B so DJ would be fighting for playtime. As he gets older his roles will be more limited. I don’t think it would be worth paying a 37 year old contact hitting first baseman $20M. So yeah, bring me George Springer. “Oh wait, but don’t the Yankees have Aaron Hicks?” Yeah, that's where this gets fun.
The Yankees should sign Springer and trade Aaron Hicks. Aaron Hicks should be the centerpiece of a trade package that gets sent to Cleveland for All-World SS Francisco Lindor. Cleveland has made it known that they would be asking for MLB players and MLB ready prospects. Cleveland does not have a good defensive outfield so Hicks would be an immediate upgrade. Aaron Hicks is at the very least a top 10 centerfielder with switch hitting power and has proven that he can perform in the postseason. Add Andujar and MLB ready prospects Luis Gil and Estevan Florial into this package and I see a win for both sides. Yankees only add $10M in payroll from this trade and will most likely extend their new franchise SS in the next offseason. Cleveland gets a top 10 center fielder who will only cost them $10M a year and is already signed to an extension. I don’t think the Yankees should stop there with free agency and as a Yankees fan I hope they don’t. The Yankees still need to add to their rotation. Maybe Kluber on a prove it deal? Make a trade for someone? I’m not too crazy about bringing back Tanaka or Paxton. But it's clear the Yankees need to boost their rotation and bullpen and get a legit number 2 starter behind Cole. It’ll be an interesting off-season to see what teams do with their payroll after a turbulent 2020. That leaves the question if not the Yankees, where does DJ end up?
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