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Yankees IF DJ LeMahieu
For the Yankees, the offseason began with the question of whether they’d be able to keep up with the black-check Mets in their pursuit of free-agent outfielder Juan Soto, who helped the Pinstripes to the World Series last year. Once that became a, “No,” the question became how the Yankees would rebound to fill out the roster.
They added a former MVP to play center field, Cody Bellinger from the Cubs. Bellinger had a down year in 2024, but is still only 29 and figures to be well-suited for Yankee Stadium. They also brought in a first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt, to play first base. Goldschmidt is 37 years old, but did knock 22 home runs and played 154 games at first last year.
The Yankees filled in their bullpen and added another ace pitcher in Max Fried. They moved last year’s third baseman, Jazz Chisholm back to his more natural second base spot. So they filled in all their needs.
Well, all except one. With Chisholm playing second, the Yankees have a wide-open hole at third base, and did not find a replacement in free agency or via trade. They’ll attempt to fill the spot from within.
Yankees Have a Hole at 3B
There’s little to say that the Yankees have the talent on hand to adequately fill the third-base slot. It could wind up that utility man Francisco Cabrera plays third base, but then, that would leave the Yankees without a backup guy who can play all over the infield.
And so Phillip Martinez, beat writer for SNY, is predicting the Yankees do something rather unconventional with the third-base position: Give it to D.J. LeMahieu, despite the fact that LeMahieu hit just .204 in 67 games last year, and looked utterly washed up.
That may be, But LeMahieu is in the fifth year of a six-year, $90 million contract, and the Yankees will likely at least let him have a shot at winning the job before ruling him out altogether. They’re paying him either way.
Wrote Martinez: “For all the LeMahieu doubters out there, unless they bring someone proven in (see: Nolan Arenado), the Yankees will try and get the most out of the infielder who is owed $30 million across the next two years. I think the Yankees could use a talent like Arenado, even at his age, but not sure a deal can be done.”
DJ LeMahieu Has Been a Bad Deal in the Bronx
A trade for Arenado would be a nice fit, especially if it keeps him away from the Red Sox, the team Arenado reportedly wants to be traded to should he leave the Cardinals. Arenado is 33 and hit .272 last season, while still registering as one of MLB’s top third basemen.
As for LeMahieu, getting something out of the final two years of his contract might prove to be akin to getting blood from a stone. LeMahieu hit .336 in his first two seasons with the Yankees, sparking the team to give him the mega-contract.
Since then, LeMahieu has been a bust. His batting average has dropped every year of the new contract, and he has hit .252 with a .698 OPS in the four years since he got the big deal. The Yankees can give him the third-base job, but it’d be a shock if he was still in the role in August.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
