The Yankees signed second baseman DJ LeMahieu to a two-year, $24MM contract going into 2019, but the division-rival Blue Jays were also after him then, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports. Speculatively, with LeMahieu set to hit the open market again, it seems possible the Jays will circle back to him. He greatly upped his value in his two seasons in New York, leading MLBTR to predict he’ll receive a four-year, $68MM payday this offseason. MLBTR even chose Toronto as LeMahieu’s destination this offseason.
Here’s the latest on a couple more AL clubs…
- The Twins could try to move outfielder Eddie Rosario this offseason, but the 29-year-old “has very little trade value” and is a clear non-tender candidate, Dan Hayes of The Athletic writes. Rosario was an above-average hitter with good power from 2017-20, a 2,002-plate appearance span in which he batted .281/.317/.493 (111 wRC+) with 96 home runs. Still, though, his projected arbitration salary (anywhere from $8.6MM to $12.9MM) could prove too rich for the Twins and all other teams. Minnesota also has two rising outfield prospects in Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach, so the team could save Rosario’s money with a non-tender and turn to one or both of those younger players in his stead.
- With the offseason underway, general manager Mike Elias discussed several Orioles topics with Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and other reporters Monday. Elias delivered great news on slugger Trey Mancini, who missed all of 2020 after undergoing Stage 3 colon cancer surgery in March. In regards to Mancini’s recovery, Elias said: “It’s going well. We’ve all got our fingers crossed. I think it’s going as well as it possible could have gone since we got that horrible news in March. I think any of us would have traded anything to get to Nov. 2 and be where we’re at with him right now. He’s doing well, he’s getting his strength back, he’s slowly getting into baseball-ish type activities and it’s been incredible.”
- Elias seems to have high hopes for infielder Yolmer Sanchez, whom the Orioles claimed from the White Sox last week. “He can move around all three infield spots, he’s a plus defender, certainly at second and third, and probably a pretty good shortstop,” observed Elias, who added, “I can also see him battling for a primary job.” Sanchez hasn’t hit much during his career, which started in 2014, but he is indeed a well-regarded defender. He even won an AL Gold Glove at second base in 2019.
A lot of teams better hope young players can come in next year and play at the Mlb level. Revenue down, means FO/owners will spend less. A lot of F/As could see a really cold market. Going to be a really interesting off season.
Rogers you open up the check book or so help me god I’ll switch to bell
I’d make that threat too, but I’m already at bell, and rogers is way too expensive. lol
Ugh…Rogers saved me more money than Bell. Have to look at options 3-10…
Looks like trumps gonna win
Okay chief
This is certainly where I come for my political analysis. Thx.
I will be happy if DJ goes anywhere besides the Yankees. I am super intrigued by the Korean SS. I would love to see the jays sign him. With a fellow Korean in Ryu that could help the jays case.
Agreed. Let him compete with Bo at SS. His numbers at 3B defensively aren’t good but he could profile at 2B. It would be a clever move by the Jays.
Why didn’t the Rockies re-sign him? They paid his replacement (who bombed)
the same amount. Did I miss
something!!??
It’s worth noting he had an immediate offensive breakout once he left Colorado.
And that he’s pretty much the first player in the history of the Rockies to hit better after leaving instead of worse. Nobody saw that coming.
i mean its not like he wasnt a good hitter before – he won a batting title, or that NYY is an extreme pitchers park compared even to Coors
A 30 year old whose career highs were 15 HR and 66 RBI playing in Colorado, suddenly posting 26 HR 102 RBI in New York and then an even better pace in 2020, has got to be considered a surprise.
He won a batting title in Colorado a few years back, sure… but his career average there was under .300 and he was coming off a down year, so you don’t expect him to hit .336 in NY, let alone increase his power.
Lemahieu came off a rough walk year where he was injured and his numbers dropped, and the Rockies had young INFs ready to step in.
Wish we could have got a good starter when Eddie had a lot of value
If Rosario gets non-tendered and winds up a FA… I wouldn’t mind the Red Sox giving him a chance. His OBP has always been too low to really make him a ‘star’ player BUT with Benintendi coming off a season in which he was pathetically bad, having another option with the raw power that Rosario has to play LF wouldn’t be a bad move. And it would also allow the Red Sox to continue to give Benintendi a chance to rebound, because Rosario isn’t exactly a sure-thing as an everyday player… so they could mix and match without really hurting anyone’s feelings that much. And if they both wound up hitting well… Benintendi could always shift to CF and they could both play… as it stands the Sox are in need of another OF anyway (with JBJ most likely on the way out, barring an unexpected new contract for him) — so on paper, add Rosario a guy with really big power, maybe another decent but not star CF option and then hope that 2/3 guys wind up hitting well enough to complete your OF with Verdugo in RF.
If Bradley walks and they don’t elect to bring in another cheap, all glove centerfielder and instead move benintendi to center, I would be perfectly okay with Rosario in left. Bloom was brought in to contend on the cheap while building the farm and that’s exactly what he would be doing
It’s good to hear Mancini is making a solid recovery. Beyond baseball his health is most important but if he can actually get his strength back and come back to the majors and be the player he was prior to his cancer diagnosis that would be all the better of a story and really great for him. best of luck to him and hope he stays healthy.
You said that perfectly.
Rosario will have a handful of suitors if he hits free agency. Nationals, Braves, Phillies, Giants, Redsox, Whitesox, Astros all come to mind with OF spots.
The Mariners should have an OF of Lewis, Fraley, Haniger (for most of the year) and Bishop/Marmolejos next year. Rosario could fit next year but if the window truly starts in 2022, it may be better to see what Fraley and Bishop can do with a bit for MLB experience. Kelenic may be up at some point too.
2022 should see Lewis, Kelenic, Rodriguez, Haniger, and Fraley.
Here’s hoping that Trey Mancini comes back at full strength and plays well enough to win the Come Back Player of the Year in 2021. Prior to his surprise diagnosis, he was definitely Baltimore’s best offensive weapon and played a serviceable RF as well. By all accounts he is a great teammate and great contributor to the local community as well. He’s the type of guy that everyone should root for regardless of who your favorite team or favorite player is. Best of luck Trey, we’re all pulling for you! If he’s able to successfully come back, he’ll be a very important piece in Baltimore’s rebuild and will be a great asset to help mentor and develop the younger players on the team. Even as a Red Sox fan, I’ll be pulling for Mancini to have a career season.
If Mancini is healthy to play in 2021, and here’s to hoping he completes the comeback, time to cut Chris Davis and make room for Trey and the young guys.
As great as LeMahieu is, I don’t think buying high on a 32 year old second baseman coming off a career year is going to the move the needle much for the Blue Jays. Their focus needs to be on starting pitching and center field defense.
Agreed smuz. Starting pitching, a quality veteran CFer and a 3B not named Vlad jr.
hit the nail on the head. DJ would be a luxury addition to a team who has INF talent that is immenent and bigger needs elsewhere.
Why does Rosario have no trade value? He’s been a solid player
Way too expensive for what he provides. His glove is frankly not playable anywhere but LF and it isn’t very good there either. His bat is good but not great and you can find the same production for a heck of a lot less than 13 million
The Twins should have traded Rosario when his value was up….Kirilloff and Larnach are both ready to go, and have been.
I like Rosario just fine, but he has never pulled it all together, and to be honest, he’s sort of a bonehead. Even a marginal return would have been better than riding him out until this point, when you get nothing for him.