The New York Yankees were expected to make a huge splash during the MLB offseason but so far, Brian Cashman and the club have been quite passive. In fact, they haven’t even reached an agreement with DJ LeMahieu.
Keeping LeMahieu in Pinstripes was supposed to be the team’s number 1 priority. He’s coming off a career-best season and was one of the best players in the league, so he’s expecting a big payday in the offseason.
However, the Bronx Bombers don’t seem to meet his financial conditions. Moreover, they don’t even want to commit to signing him to the long-term deal he’s reportedly demanding after his breakout campaign.
New York Yankees Unwilling To Meet LeMahieu’s Conditions
According to NJ.com’s Bob Klapisch, the 32-year-old infielder wants to sign a 5-year, $125 million deal. However, the Yankees organization is wary about signing an aging player to such a long contract.
Instead, Cashman’s front office would like him to sign a 4-year, $75 million contract, but that’s just way too low for LeMahieu’s intentions, even if he’s stated that he’s looking forward to coming back to the team.
Nonetheless, CBS Sports believes that LeMahieu isn’t going to get that kind of money from the New York Yankees. Apparently, he’ll eventually want to choose whether he wants to stay in the Bronx or pursue a more lucrative deal elsewhere:
“LeMahieu has been among the best all-around players in the baseball the last two seasons and, in normal times, he very well might have received five years and $125 million. It’s hard to see that with payrolls coming down amid the pandemic, however. There is no harm in LeMahieu’s camp seeking that much — you can’t get what you don’t ask for — but it seems likely his next contract will come in somewhere south of that,” read the report.
Should LeMahieu leave, the Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly leading the race for his services, as they’d be willing to pay as much as he wants to reinforce a promising offensefeaturing Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
