Yankees: 3 moves NYY can make while waiting for DJ LeMahieu

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The Yankees are waiting for DJ LeMahieu to make any moves, but they don’t have to.

The New York Yankees have made it quite clear that they only intend to go as far as DJ LeMahieu does this offseason.

And until their All-Star second baseman decides on his next destination, or chooses to maintain the status quo, the rest of Brian Cashman’s assets are basically frozen.

But although retaining LeMahieu should be the No. 1 priority, that doesn’t mean the Yankees have to halt their operations entirely.

Sure, it takes them out of the middle infield market. But that’s not really a space they should be wading into anyway; Didi Gregorius and Marcus Semien should probably plan to make $15 million annually somewhere else.

Accepting that LeMahieu’s deal will end up being between $20-25 million annually, though, the Yankees have about $10 million more they can comfortably spend regardless of where that extension eventually settles before passing any sort of luxury tax threshold. And so we think they should do that.

In order to make sure they don’t miss out on necessary upgrades elsewhere, the Yankees should pile on these cheap deals before LeMahieu (hopefully) arrives back at the facility for a mid-winter unveiling.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – OCTOBER 08: Trevor Rosenthal #47 of the San Diego Padres pitches during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Three of the National League Division Series at Globe Life Field on October 08, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

3. Trevor Rosenthal

The Yankees should come to a swift agreement with Trevor Rosenthal.

Trevor Rosenthal is already spending the month of December tweeting hypotheticals about showing up clean-shaven to Zoom meetings with the Yankees organization.

Why not go the extra mile and offer him a contract already?

Rosenthal was Yankees property once upon a time back in Summer 2019 when his mechanics had betrayed him to the point he’d become minor-league fodder. In 0.1 of an inning at Triple-A with the Yanks that year, he posted an unfortunate 108.00 ERA, which honestly can be attributed to bad luck (kidding) before ultimately landing in Kansas City to open up 2020.

There, he became one of the game’s great comeback stories — damned if the Royals don’t know exactly how to run a bullpen.

Rosenthal, in KC and San Diego post-deadline last year, posted remarkable numbers, whiffing 38 men in 23.2 innings pitched, walking just eight men one season after walking 26 in 15.1 big league innings, and sporting a sparkling 0.91 ERA down the stretch in SD’s playoff race. If not for Daniel Bard’s out of nowhere return to elite-level relieving, Rosenthal might’ve been the comeback story of 2020.

MLB Trade Rumors projected him to receive a two-year, $14 million early in the offseason, but that projection could very well be reduced to a singular year of commitment at this point. Even if it becomes a multi-year pact, this would be well in range of something the Yankees could afford, LeMahieu or no LeMahieu.

CLEVELAND, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 30: Cesar Hernandez #7 of the Cleveland Indians rounds third on his way to score on a double by Jose Ramirez #11 during the first inning of Game Two of the American League Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field on September 30, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /

2. Cesar Hernandez

The Yankees would be getting an upgrade on Thairo Estrada/Tyler Wade here.

At Cesar Hernandez’s apparent price, what’s not to like?

Earlier editions of our 2020-21 offseason plan shied away from including Hernandez, simply because we thought the Sabermetric darling would’ve priced himself out of “fourth infielder” range with his excellent 2020 in Cleveland.

According to MLBTR again, though, he’s very much in range, theoretically commanding only $6 million on a one-year deal.

Any Yankees fan knows after watching the 2020 team play — as if it weren’t already painfully obvious in previous years — that the so-called backup infielder on the roster will end up a near-starter. How many games did you watch this year that didn’t involve Thairo Estrada, Tyler Wade, Jordy Mercer, or all three?

Hernandez followed up seven (seven!) successful, yet unheralded years in Philadelphia with a campaign in Cleveland last year worth 1.8 WAR in the shortened season, and leaves The Land with a Gold Glove for his mantle. This is a .290 hitter who would easily attain 450 plate appearances in a given season with the current Yankees infield construction, and wouldn’t demand a more prominent role among the Torreses and the Urshelas and, we hope, the LeMahieus.

This is simply a doable upgrade the Yanks should be racing to make, with our without having secured the signature of their missing piece.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 26: Jon Lester #34 of the Chicago Cubs during the game against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on September 26, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

1. Jon Lester

The Yankees can’t let the starting pitching market pass them by.

If Jon Lester’s going rate really is $5 million for a single year, as MLBTR seems to predict, then he’s a must. As is Cole Hamels. They’re both musts. Dual musts.

With Luis Severino on the shelf until mid-summer (and potentially with the reins still on for the entire year), and Domingo German suddenly very important, the Yankees will be letting the city down if the emerge from the offseason with the same rotation, as currently constructed.

This doesn’t mean they need to dip into the relative deep end for Jake Odorizzi or Tomoyuki Sugano and sacrifice their flexibility with LeMahieu’s deal. It just means they should definitely use some of that excess $10 million or so to bring in a veteran arm known for stardom on the biggest stage, instead of acting like they don’t have a few inches of wiggle room.

Jon Lester isn’t all-caps JON LESTER, or Chicago curse-breaking Jon Lester, or guaranteed seven innings Jon Lester from his Boston days anymore. In fact, in 2020, he wasn’t even very good, posting a 5.16 ERA and only striking out 42 in 61.0 innings of work. 2018 was his last great season (18-6, 3.32), and his 4.39 FIP that year predicted future regression. Even if Lester’s at a late-career Sabathia level of effectiveness, he’d be valuable to this team as an innings-eater.

And that’s the main thesis statement of this piece. Whether you believe there are game-changers on the market or not, the Yankees are being wise by waiting for LeMahieu’s deal to come together before taking any gigantic leaps.

But there’s enough untouched money in those conversations that they can get going plugging other holes without ever impacting their most significant chase. Lester’s one of those additional pieces they can simply have, so long as they stop waiting around.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: Hunter Renfroe #11 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning in Game Four of the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Field on October 24, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

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