Free-agent infielder DJ LeMahieu could have another suitor from the Big Apple.
Per Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the New York Mets have “recently contacted” the 32-year-old slugger. The depth of their dialogue was not revealed, nor was the Mets’ intentions on how they’d employ LeMahieu’s services.
A second baseman by trade who dabbles at third (+2 outs above average at second and third in 2019; -1 OAA at second, +/- 0 OAA at third in 2020), the former Colorado Rockies standout has spent the past two seasons in The Bronx with the Yankees.
Since the start of 2019 (195 games), LeMahieu’s hit .336/.386/.536 with 36 home runs, 146 wRC+, and 7.8 wins above replacement (12th in MLB; FanGraphs). His .422 weighted on-base average ranked in the 99th percentile league-wide last season.
Adding a hitter of LeMahieu’s caliber to the Mets lineup would arguably put it over the top, production-wise. Whether he’d assume everyday duties at second or third would be an afterthought.
Expected to fetch an annual salary close to or exceeding $30 million per year over multiple seasons, Yankees GM Brian Cashman has made re-signing LeMahieu the team’s lone priority this offseason.
Speaking with Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Cashman expressed patience in the process but alluded to the real possibility LeMahieu signs elsewhere.
“Hopefully, we can have that type of experience where it doesn’t matter how long it takes, as long as it has an ultimate outcome that’s successful,” Cashman said. “But there’s no guarantee that it will.”
We’ll keep you posted with any new information as it becomes available.
