The New York Yankees are finalizing an agreement with free-agent infielder DJ LeMahieu. A deal could get done as soon as Friday, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
If an agreement to bring LeMahieu back to the Bronx is indeed reached, the news will come as a sigh of relief to Yankees fans. The slow pace of negotiations with the versatile infielder to this point fueled concerns that another team could swoop in and steal the MVP candidate.
Like so many other organizations in baseball, the Yankees — despite being, you know, the Yankees — have generally cut back on free-agent splurges in recent years, though re-signing LeMahieu seemed like a no-brainer.
LeMahieu had reportedly grown impatient with the pace of the talks and asked his agent to contact other teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets.
The infielder has been one of the most dependable and consistent players in baseball since arriving in New York, and a steady force atop a lineup that has been ravaged by injuries for two consecutive seasons.
MLB Network's Jon Heyman provided some insight into the negotiations, per WFAN:
“I've heard four years and close to $20 million [per year that the Yankees are] offering at this point … he's looking for a five-year deal and the word was he was looking for well over $20 million, probably close to $25 million a year … There seems to be compromising room in there. Somewhere around that Josh Donaldson deal [with the Minnesota Twins] — four years for $92 million.”
Now, it appears LeMahieu will be getting a six-year deal worth around $90 million, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The 32-year-old posted .336/.386/.536 splits over the past two years while shuffling between three infield positions. He finished third in the American League in MVP voting in 2020 and fourth in voting the year before. He led the AL in batting average (.364), on-base percentage (.421) and OPS (1.011) last season.
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