The Pinstriped Baseball Lane

WE NEED DJ BACK IN PINSTRIPES!!!! There is so many reasons why the New York Yankees should do everything they can to re-sign him.

A little over a year ago, more than a handful of Yankee fans wanted a deal down with Manny Machado to make a big splash in the free agency.  Now let me be clear, I was not one of those fans, due to the fact that I felt that Machado would mess up the chemistry of a veteran-youth ball-club.  Yes, of course, Machado’s skills would of been an asset to the team, but he just wouldn’t be the right match for a “pass-the-baton” kind of team.

With an uncertain chemistry match, the Yankees didn’t stay in the talk of the Machado sweepstakes, however, they did make a signing that has been proven to be a huge impact this past season.  Taking themselves out of the Machado free agency market, the team signed a two year, $24 million guarantee with DJ LeMahieu instead.

Unfortunately, there is some uncertainty to that guarantee because LeMahieu’s future in pinstripes is on hold due to the corona-virus. If the season had started as scheduled, the infielder would of gotten a shot at being an everyday second baseman and that would of given him a golden opportunity to prove his worth. Yes that’s right, he has to prove his worth because if the season was underway, he would be playing for a contract renewal. Hopefully, that will be the case, especially when the front office takes LeMahieu’s 2019 performance under consideration.

As a Yankee fan, I enjoyed watching his stellar glove work across the infield positions, as he had to take reps at each of the positions because of so many injuries last season.  The infielder didn’t just show off his elite glove work, he matched his defense with dominant at-bats in the batter’s box.  He slashed a batting line of .327/ .375/.518 and clobbered a total of 26 home runs (138 wRC+: weighted runs created plus).

  With those type of numbers, he is an MVP caliber athlete, unfortunately, he finished fourth in the American League MVP voting.  Personally, I see him as the 2019 Yankees’ MVP.

  LeMahieu, 31, won over the fans and his teammates with his quiet, laser-focused approach at the plate.  Remember when the team only seemed to put the ball in the stands and rarely capitalized on Runners-In-Scoring-Position (RISP), well LeMahieu is very good at that part of his craft.  In fact, catcher Gary Sanchez gave him the nickname, “The Machine” and Aaron Boone said, “LeMahieu would rip his heart out”. 

According to pinstripealley.com,”The infielder was the only player to earn an A+ rating in our PSA Yankees Report Cards.”

LeMahieu’s contract end at the end of this season.  According to an agreement between the owners and MLBPA, a canceled season would mean that the 2020-2021 free agent class would hit the open market.  The Yankees’ only managed to get one year of production from the stellar infielder, but with the team looking to go all the way in the chase for 28, it would make complete sense to resign “The Machine“.