What are the Yankees going to do with DJ LeMahieu?
They need a shortstop, a first baseman and probably another starting pitcher. They have considering bringing in another first baseman and general manager Brian Cashman has said the team could try to upgrade in center field. That’s all on top of wondering how some of the key cogs in their lineup will fare in 2022.
Not knowing what to do with LeMahieu — one of the better right-handed hitters in the game since 2019 — is a good problem to have. Still, it’s an issue.
Let’s look at four options:
Give him a utility role
This seems the most likely scenario, or at least it does given the Yankees’ current roster construction. Is it ideal to bounce around the player in the second season of a six-year, $90-million deal? Probably not. But LeMahieu has been willing to play wherever the Yankees want him. Of the 403 games he’s played in the field (not counting DH) with the Yankees, he’s spent 48.3% (195 games) of his time at second base, 26.3% (106 games) at first base and 25.3% (102 games) at third base. This was the role the Yankees had initially laid out for him when they signed him in 2019 before he became one of the league’s most productive second baseman for two years.
Start him at second base
It’s LeMahieu’s natural position. Logic says that if the Yankees want to get the most out of him, they would plop the 33-year-old here. Not so fast, however. Making LeMahieu the every day second baseman would likely mean trading Gleyber Torres. That can’t be ruled out, considering the numerous situations the Yankees must address, Torres’ consecutive down seasons and LeMahieu’s upside. But the Yankees probably don’t want to give up on 25-year-old who will finally move back to second base, where he’s more comfortable, and put failed shortstop experiment behind him.
Start him at third base
This is where it starts to get interesting. Gio Urshela has meant so much to the Yankees since he blew up for them in 2019. But the fact is, Urshela just wasn’t very productive in 2021. Was it the lingering knee problems? The hamstring? Or was it the start of Urshela’s fall off? More likely, Urshela was just banged up, because there were times when he looked just like himself, though it can’t be ignored that his strikeout rate jumped to 24.7% in 2021 from 14.14% in 2020, and that his walk rate dropped nearly 6% year over year. LeMahieu isn’t the best defender at third base, but he can get the job done there, and the bat obviously has a higher ceiling. What if Urshela slid into the utility role?
Start him at first base
There’s just about no shot of this happening. But if the Yankees don’t bring in a new a first baseman (Freddie Freeman? Matt Olson? Re-sign Anthony Rizzo), the Yankees could look at LeMahieu as a potentially better option at first base than Luke Voit, who can sure hit but is a poor defender and has had difficulty staying healthy. If the Yankees go in this direction, things have gone very wrong.
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Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com.
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