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Yankees Rumors: NYY still likely DJ LeMahieu landing spot as contract details emerge

ByAdam Weinrib|
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 27: DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees looks on during the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium on September 27, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 27: DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees looks on during the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium on September 27, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

We know a little bit more about what contract details DJ LeMahieu’s agent is looking for, and whether the Yankees will ultimately pay him.

Yankees fans are prone to panic (we get it!), and when Robinson Cano was popped with a one-year suspension after Steve Cohen shoved Stanozolol into his smoothie (unconfirmed), we mashed the big, red button en masse.

After all, doesn’t that mean overspending for DJ LeMahieu will be the natural next step for the Mets? Don’t they want to embarrass us?

According to SNY insider Andy Martino, though, we shouldn’t expect that to be the particular splurge that Cohen is plotting for.

As Martino writes (while noting, of course, that LeMahieu is being nipped at by plenty of teams that aren’t the Yankees):

"“Robinson Cano’s suspension for performance-enhancing drugs invited immediate speculation that the Mets could jump in on free agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu. But our sense through league sources is that he’s more likely to remain a Yankee than jump to Queens.Both LeMahieu and the Yankees want the reunion to happen, although they have not yet agreed on what a fair contract should look like. But LeMahieu is on record saying that he considers the Yankees a fit, and the Yankees value not only his all-world bat-to-ball skills, but his leadership.We’ve long felt that the Yankees will sign LeMahieu, and that will be their most significant free agent expenditure this year. That’s not a sure thing, but the sense hasn’t changed.”"

The Mets, it seems, are more likely to use their extra cash to ensure they can sign center fielder George Springer away from the Astros, while moving Jeff McNeil back to his natural position of second base. With Cano’s expenditure still on the books in 2021 and 2022 (theoretically, though the Mets have to find a way out of that), this makes more sense.

Especially because we’re getting the sense that a LeMahieu pact could be quite long-term. According to Michael Kay’s sources, the second baseman’s agent is looking for five years of security, which would take him through age 37. The Yankees are, uh, not looking for that.

This feels like classic posturing on both sides, and we see no reason presented that four years won’t be a reasonable compromise by the end of all this. “You want five?! We’re not going above three. OK, fine, maybe four. Alright, four.”

For what it’s worth, widely-circulated reporting emerged from Metsmerized’s Pat Ragazzo on Thursday that backs up this assertion: LeMahieu’s side is seeking five years, and he’d be willing to bend to the Yankees’ side if things are close.

DJ’s return is far from a done deal, and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise — in fact, most Yankees fans are probably girding themselves for his departure instead of being overly confident.

The most likely scenario here, though, is still a reunion in the Bronx. At the very least, the Mets seem to be a longshot.

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