The New York Yankees on Thursday shocked the baseball world when they released 15-year veteran infielder and two-time batting champion D.J. LeMahieu.
Though manager Aaron Boone informed LeMahieu earlier in the week that he had lost his starting job at second base and would be riding the bench until further notice, the 36-year-old LeMahieu wanted to stay with the Yankees and was blindsided by the team’s sudden decision to cast him aside, according to media reports.
But according to one MLB insider, Jon Morosi of the MLB Network, LeMahieu — who won the American League batting title in the COVID-shortened 2020 season with a .364 average — may soon find another baseball home, about as far away from New York as possible while still remaining in the major leagues.
“As I mentioned on MLB Network, I wonder about the Mariners as a possible fit,” Morosi wrote on his social media Thursday.
According to Bridget Hyland, a sports reporter for NJ Advance Media, if LeMahieu were signed by the Seattle Mariners, as Morosi speculates, it may necessitate a move to first base.
LeMahieu has played just 239 of his 1,673 big league games at first. All but four of those appearances at first base came during his six seasons with the Yankees.
Second base and DH would also remain in play for LeMahieu in Seattle, should he end up there, the NJ Advance Media scribe wrote.
“The Mariners start lefty Luke Raley at first, but he is ineffective against same-side pitchers. Donovan Solano is currently serving as the first base backup, playing 315 2/3 innings at the position this year,” Hyland wrote on Friday. “He started the season in one of the worst slumps of his career, and while he turned around his season in June, he still has been a weak spot in the lineup with an 81 OPS+.”
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When he won the batting title in 2020, a year when he also led the AL in on-base percentage (.421) and OPS (1.011) as well as WAR (3.0), LeMahieu rather surprisingly became the first Yankee to lead the league in batting average since outfielder Bernie Williams did it in 1998, hitting at a .339 clip.
LeMahieu actually led both leagues in batting in 2020, the first Yankee to notch that achievement since legendary Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle hit .353 in 1956.
According to MLB.com Yankees beat writer Bryan Hoch, LeMahieu was ready to play third base, where he served for 36 games last season. He was “not happy” to be denied the chance and released instead, Hoch reported
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By cutting LeMahieu loose, the Yankees are stuck paying him $6.61 million for the remainder of this season to not play for them. Next season, the final year of his six-year, $90 million contract, they will owe him $15 million.
Even if he is picked by Seattle, or any other team, the Yankees remain on the hook for the vast bulk of that money. Under MLB rules, LeMahieu’s new team would need to pay him only the prorated portion of the minimum $740,000 this year. The Yankees would remain obligated to cover the rest.
Next year’s minimum salary goes up to $780,000 so if LaMahieu catches on with a team in 2026, the Yankees would be required to pay him $14.22 million to play for somebody else.
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