Yankees end Manny Machado pursuit with DJ LeMahieu signing

Adding yet another All-Star infielder this offseason, the Yankees are feeding into the arms race that is Major League Baseball. Former Rockies second baseman, D.J. LeMahieu, and the Yanks have agreed to a two-year contract.

The deal, worth a total of $24 million over two years, will bring the eight-year MLB veteran to the Bronx until age 32. This should finally put an end to whether or not superstar infielder Manny Machado will be in pinstripes next season. This may seem like a head-scratcher on the Yankees’ part, but this deal only makes the team better heading into 2019.

LeMahieu, a career .298 hitter, is expected to take on a utility role with the Yankees; a role which he might not be adapted to. He’s only played 49 games outside of second base at the Major League level. However, he has played some games at every infield position and while in the minors, LeMahieu played only about half his games at second. That’s about the extent of the LSU alumnus’ utility history. Having never played a professional game in the outfield, I suspect, and hope, the Yankees limit LeMahieu to the infield.

LeMahieu will be a good rotating infielder, giving other starters days off here and there, or filling in for injury. Especially with his exceptional defense; transitioning to other positions shouldn’t be a problem. And boy do I mean exceptional. The middle infielder has saved 69 runs on defense in his career, 48 DRS in the past five seasons (19th of all players).

Although LeMahieu is coming off a sub-par season by his standards, he did hit a career-high 15 home runs, doubling his home run rate from 2017.  LeMahieu is a contact hitter on a power hitting team and should bring balance to a Yankees lineup that often relies too heavily on hitting the ball over the fence.

The Yankees did not have a single starter hit above .300 last season, the closest being Miguel Andújar with a .297 batting average. They did, however, hit the most home runs in a season by a team in MLB history (267 HR), but they don’t really need any more dingers.

In comes, LeMahieu, who has hit fewer home runs in his career than Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton has hit in a single season. If you’re a fan of the long ball, don’t fret. LeMahieu’s ability to hit the ball to the opposite field, as shown by the 35% of his career batted balls going into right field, might bump his home run numbers up a bit.

The dilemma is the Yankees not only have a crowded outfield but now they have a crowded infield as well. Yes, the injury to starting shortstop, Didi Gregorius, will allow for the rest of the team to gain some at-bats, but once the undeclared captain returns to the lineup, add to the conundrum of playing time in the Bronx.

I’d expect Brian Cashman to have some sort of plan. With the addition of both IF Troy Tulowitzki and IF D.J. LeMahieu, someone is gonna be leaving town by the trade deadline. Especially on the new and improved, cost-efficient, New York Yankees, who focus much of their attention toward getting under the luxury tax threshold this past season.

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Now having passing up on two once in a lifetime free agents in Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, the Yankees have shown they won’t be convinced into long and franchise damaging contracts anymore. Hence the hard pass on Machado as a semi-Gregorius replacement, and future Yankee star; even in light of Manny’s public interest in being a Yankee.

Therefore I suspect that multiple guys on this crowded Yankee roster will see their way out of New York midseason, in order to acquire other pieces who will help push for a World Series the Yankees are so close to. The bullpen and rotation still look to be areas of concern, unlike the lineup. Just because the Yankees went out and signed free agent starters doesn’t mean the rotation cannot be improved.

On top of that, the Yankees rotation, with the exception of Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery who’s set to return later on in the summer, is not all that young. Perhaps they’ll consider adding some promising, youthful starting pitchers around the deadline.

With the addition of the slick-fielding second baseman, the Yankees opened the doors to a bright future, if they play their cards right. D.J. LeMahieu is not only a solid ballplayer, but he’s also great trade bait for playoff contending teams.

If anything were to go wrong, injury-wise, LeMahieu will be called upon to step in, but otherwise, he could be a trade option once Didi returns, especially in a supplement to the broad trading block of the New York Yankees.