FanSided

3 teams DJ LeMahieu absolutely cannot sign with if he leaves Yankees

By Thomas Carannante |
DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees looks on during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on September 02, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees looks on during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on September 02, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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If DJ LeMahieu ends up leaving the Yankees in free agency, we’d be devastated to see him sign with one of these teams.

Regardless of what many fans think, it’s far from guaranteed that DJ LeMahieu returns to the New York Yankees in 2021. He’ll be a free agent in a couple of weeks and is expected to command top dollar thanks to his contributions over the last two seasons, which culminated with a batting title in the shortened 2020 campaign.

Not many would oppose the Yankees presenting the slugger with a blank check and just moving on to keep the potent lineup intact, but they’re are no longer that kind of team. And the pandemic has resulted in a lot of financial losses for every MLB franchise.

When you consider Hal Steinbrenner’s comments regarding the team’s finances, as well as the fact LeMahieu and the team never discussed an extension despite his well-known desire to remain in New York, then his possible departure becomes even more worrisome.

If our worst nightmare does come true, we beg DJLM not to sign with these three teams. We honestly don’t know what we’ll do if he does.

Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Pete Alonso #20 of the New York Mets (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

3. New York Mets

The Yankees cannot let LeMahieu go to their crosstown rivals.

Steve Cohen won the bid for the New York Mets and he’ll become the official owner pending a vote next week. Fans in Queens were especially elated to hear the news because Cohen, if approved, will be the richest owner in Major League Baseball, meaning they’ll no longer be dealing with the cheap and ineffectual Wilpons.

If Cohen is indeed hell bent on throwing money around to put the Mets in contention and money shame the Yankees, signing away LeMahieu should be his top priority. If the NL adopts the DH in 2021, this move could make perfect sense because then the Mets could use Robinson Cano in that role more often and let DJ play second base.

You heard enough Mets trash talk this year when they managed to show up the Yankees a few times during the regular season. Imagine the backlash if LeMahieu lands in Queens and helps lift the Mets to the playoffs? It’ll be nonstop.

The Mets have a lot of money coming off the books and Cohen could be in a good position to make a few early splashes to start his new job. Please, don’t let this happen.

CHICAGO – SEPTEMBER 26: Nick Madrigal #1 of the Chicago White Sox (Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images)
CHICAGO – SEPTEMBER 26: Nick Madrigal #1 of the Chicago White Sox (Photo by Ron Vesely/Getty Images) /

2. Chicago White Sox

This isn’t entirely likely, but the Sox could get creative to out-bid the Yankees.

This isn’t likely, but it would go a long way in undermining the Yankees in the American League. The Chicago White Sox have shown the ability to get creative, building the current roster through trades, international signings and shrewd drafting. So how can we rule out this scenario?

Nick Madrigal is Chicago’s starting second baseman at the moment. He’s one of the top prospects in baseball and further proved that with his debut 2020 season. He slashed .340/.376/.369 across 29 games but only had three extra-base hits (all were doubles). Nonetheless, aside from his four errors at second base, it was largely an impressive debut.

But what if general manager Rick Hahn decides to turn around and trade Madrigal to address another roster need? That’ll create a void at second base and he can swoop in, snag LeMahieu, and bolster one of the best lineups in Major League Baseball. Imagine DJ atop that lineup? Then we’d have to hope we never face the White Sox in the playoffs.

It’s not like Chicago doesn’t have room financially, either. They rank 14th in the league in terms of payroll heading into 2021 and can afford to splurge a bit given a number of team-friendly deals on the books right now (Luis Robert, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez).

We’re not overly worried about this, but we simply cannot rule it out.

Former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, with an S-eating grin (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, with an S-eating grin (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

1. Boston Red Sox

If the Red Sox get Alex Cora back and sign DJLM, Yankees fans should riot.

Every Yankees fan’s worst nightmare should be the Red Sox over-bidding for DJ LeMahieu and Trevor Bauer this offseason after re-signing Alex Cora following his one-year ban from baseball. The Red Sox need a second baseman and another starter, so this isn’t out of the question.

And when you look at their payroll, there are only two long-term commitments after 2022 in Chris Sale and Xander Bogaerts. Bauer could be another one of those fixtures and DJLM can help them with their win-now endeavors in 2021 and 2022. If they can’t afford this, then they’re lying to everyone.

On top of getting rid of a hypothetical Mookie Betts megadeal, they dumped half of David Price’s salary to the Dodgers and will have Jackie Bradley Jr.’s $11 million coming off the books this offseason as well as Eduardo Rodriguez and Dustin Pedroia’s $10+ million figures after 2021.

Right now, the missing piece in the Sox infield is at second base, and a three- or four-year deal for DJLM could line up perfectly for them since they still have a formidable core with Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi and Alex Verdugo. Sign those two guys and get a couple of bullpen arms, and just like that the Sox could be World Series contenders again.

I hate that we’re even thinking about this, but it’d really be a shame if we overlooked them this offseason and then they turned around to do something insane like this to further interrupt the Yankees’ championship window.

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