Mark Teixeira speaks on DJ LeMahieu return and Gleyber Torres

Former Yankees star Mark Teixeira discussed DJ LeMahieu’s potential return and Gleyber Torres’ struggles at short in an interview with FanSided.

Since his days holding down first base for the pre-Baby Bombers iteration of the New York Yankees, Mark Teixeira has made his bones as an opinionated ESPN analyst, never afraid to bring his polished tone and player’s perspective to any issue.

FanSided caught up with Teixeira this week thanks to his partnership with Depend on its “Stand Strong for Men’s Health” campaign, and got to ask him a few burning questions about what’s going on in the Yankees Universe during another sure-to-be-turbulent offseason.

After discussing the World Series, Dave Roberts’ questionable maneuvers turning to gold at about a 50% rate, and the embarrassing likelihood that Alex Cora returns to the Red Sox soon, Tex addressed the Yankees’ deficiencies, doubling down on his offseason plan.

But after advocating for signing a few pitchers and lefty bats for balance, he addressed the elephant in the room: Can the Yankees do all that and also afford DJ LeMahieu?

"“I think there’s a couple ways DJ LeMahieu could become a casualty. The other would be if the Yankees are trying to get underneath the luxury tax threshold. There’s a lot of people that are gonna want DJ LeMahieu on their team, and if he’s getting a huge contract, the Yankees are gonna need to spend that money in other places. We talked about their starting pitching staff. I think as someone that follow the Yankees, and as a Yankee fan and former player, I’d love to see them sign DJ LeMahieu, but there’s going to be plenty of other teams that are vying for his services.”"

Every Yankees fan is similarly panicked about retaining LeMahieu, but they’ve also been relatively realistic and grounded so far while evaluating the prospect of his departure.

One area where nobody’s grounded, though? The great Gleyber Torres shortstop debate. Either you’re fervently anti-Torres and think he should swap positions before it’s too late, or you think the whole thing is a useless fight based on a 60-game sample.

Tex? Sorry, but he thinks there’ll be a move, long-term.

"“You know, I think he’s probably a better second baseman,” Teixeira said of Torres. “The defensive metrics will tell you he’s not a very good shortstop, and maybe his body will hold up better at second base. He’s had a few injuries in his young career. I think him moving over to second base is probably the best long-term answer.”"

Best long-term answer? Possibly. Difficult conundrum for 2021, with LeMahieu hanging in the balance, too? Oh, you bet.

Rest assured, though, Teixeira’s not the only one who believes this.

Mark Teixeira has partnered with Depend on its “Stand Strong for Men’s Health” campaign, designed to destigmatize male incontinence. By purchasing Depend Guards or Shields in the month of Nov., Men’s Health Awareness month, Depend will donate up to $200K to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Learn more at www.depend.com/en-us/stand-strong.

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