Yankees: 2021 Replacements for DJ LeMahieu

3. Yankees Target: Marcus Semien

The Yankees could choose to replace DJ LeMahieu with a fellow breakout MVP candidate in Marcus Semien.

If the Yankees choose to let LeMahieu walk, they’d better swing hard in an effort to replace him, and should look no further than the best free agent infielder (other than LMHU, of course) on the market following the 2020 season.

Though Semien plays his home games in Oakland, the slugging infielder rivals the game’s best shortstops, and would immediately rank above Xander Bogaerts in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, sanding off a bit of the bragging rights coming from Boston. Semien, who will be 30 years old when he hits free agency, finished third in the MVP race last season after posting an absurd 8.9 WAR, 33 homers, and 92 RBI, and SOMEHOW failed to make the All-Star team (which, we assure you, would NOT happen if he’d posted the same numbers in the Bronx).

While saying farewell to LeMahieu would adequately depress the Yankee populace, this replacement would signal that the team continues to think big while attempting to fortify the lineup. Semien seems destined for a big-city payday this time around, and the Yankees will have to closely monitor the bidding. Goodness knows Oakland won’t be able (or willing) to afford him, so if the Yanks don’t have a spot reserved, they should cross their fingers and hope he signs on in the senior circuit, or remains on the west coast.

And speaking of the Dodgers…