Yankees: 3 2021 DJ LeMahieu alternatives we won’t really be happy with

1. Trevor Story

Would the Yankees really rather pay twice for Trevor Story than sign DJ LeMahieu?

Trevor Story’s our representative of the 2021-22 high-dollar shortstop class in terms of this offseason experiment, since he’s the only one likely to be available in trade (nope, not Corey Seager, Javier Baez or Carlos Correa).

If the Yankees are being tight-fisted in terms of accruing costs, though, would they really opt to pay up for Story in prospect capital now, only to pay him $250 million or more next offseason? Why is that preferable to simply paying your key cog in LeMahieu over $150 million less?

Would the Yankees really pay twice for a shortstop now, cutting bait on the Torres Experiment after just 42 out-of-shape games, mid-pandemic? Or would they just…wait around for next offseason, choosing to get worse this time around?

Story is a fantastic player. He’s also really the only shortstop available to the Yankees in next offseason’s “frenzy”; Francisco Lindor’s not walking through that door. Is the small chance Story comes here worth the headache of letting LeMahieu go? Is it worth making the current championship-esque roster worse?

The Rockies know they have the Yanks bent over a barrel here (especially post-Lindor), and they’ve made it quite clear they expect Story in their Opening Day lineup and won’t let him go cheaply. If Brian Cashman chooses chaos and trades for Story, it’ll be much more costly than any $92-$110 million LeMahieu extension.

And it’ll reveal he’d never really made LeMahieu his “top priority” all along.

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