DJ LeMahieu, Second Baseman
Bats/Throws: R/R
Age: 32 (7/13/1988)
Traditional Stats: 50 games, .364/.421/.590, 10 doubles, 10 HR, 27 RBI
Advanced Stats: 2.8 bWAR, 2.5 fWAR, 177 OPS+, 177 wRC+
Defensive Stats: 0 DRS, -1.4 UZR, -1 OAA
Rundown
Just two years ago, DJ LeMahieu wasn’t even considered a top-20 free agent by most people in a loaded class that included players like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Patrick Corbin, Michael Brantley and others. But if you took LeMahieu and put him in that same class now, he’d easily be the most sought after position player behind Harper and Machado.
There were a lot of questions about the Yankees decision to sign LeMahieu to a 2 year/$24 million deal. The Bronx Bombers already had Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius and Gleyber Torres in the infield. Where would LeMahieu play? Would he even start once Gregorius was recovered from Tommy John surgery? Why would you sign a guy that had a career .264/.311/.412 slash-line away from Coors Field, his previous home?
Well, LeMahieu answered all those questions very quickly once he arrived in NYC. The California native hit .327/.375/.518 in 145 games, and wound up finishing fourth in American League MVP voting behind Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, and Marcus Semien. LeMahieu became a fan favorite in the Bronx almost instantly.
LeMahieu followed up that first stellar season with an even better one in 2020. It was a smaller sample size at just 50 games, but the 32-year-old lead all qualified AL hitters in batting average (.364), on base percentage (.421), OPS (1.011), and wRC+ (177).
LeMahieu finished third in AL MVP voting this season behind White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu and Indians infielder Jose Ramirez.
Contract
The Yankees extended the $18.9 million qualifying offer to LeMahieu, which he inevitably declined on Wednesday. LeMahieu just had the best offensive season of his career and will be looking to cash in this winter.
Most sites estimate that LeMahieu will land a 3-4 year deal worth around $22-25 million annually, which seems fair for a player like him. He is clearly exceptional with the bat and can play basically every position on the infield except for shortstop, but is also turning 33 in July. That has to make you figure opposing clubs would be fearful of handing him a deal longer than 4 years.
LeMahieu has been represented by Wasserman Media Group since the 2018 offseason. Wasserman also represents names like Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Berrios, Ketel Marte, Yu Darvish, Tyler Glasnow, and Brandon Crawford.
Recommendation
While LeMahieu is a great talent and would give the Mets an added boost to their already exceptional offense, it seems like this isn’t the best fit.
The Mets already have so many infielders between Pete Alonso, Dominic Smith, J.D. Davis, Jeff McNeil, Robinson Cano, Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario and Luis Guillorme. Adding LeMahieu to that group and creating even more of a logjam just feels unnecessary.
Could that conversation change if the Mets were to trade a couple of those infielders for a pitcher or another area of need? Sure. But Sandy Alderson and Co. should probably focus spending free-agent money on the more pressing needs like pitching, center field and catcher.
