The past few years just haven’t gone as planned for DJ LeMahieu. The New York Yankees would be wise to eat the remainder of his contract at this point, but if they aren’t comfortable doing that, simply replacing him would do the trick.
LeMahieu has put together an incredible career for himself, and the last few seasons of injury-riddled play don’t diminish that, but this is a business and the Yankees need to win now.
He can’t provide them with that anymore.
Looking for options to replace him, Aaliyan Mohammed of Newsweek proposed a trade idea that would replace the Yankees infielder. His deal would land Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“Perhaps a surprising, and cheaper, option is Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Pittsburgh Pirates,” Mohammed wrote.
Mohammed cited Michael Kay’s comments from January, when he urged the Yankees to trade for the elite third baseman.
“Ke’Bryan Hayes is a defensive magician at third base,” Kay said on January 15. “His hitting is not what it should be, but he’s obviously not happy in Pittsburgh. I talked to Charlie when the Yankees were in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago, and he was like scratching his head about some of the things they do in Pittsburgh with the hitters.
“Whatever the case may be, if I’m the Yankees, I’m calling the Pirates and go, ‘What do you want?’”
Is Hayes Available?
While Hayes would be an upgrade for the New York Yankees, he isn’t exactly an elite player. The former top prospect was expected to be one of the better players in baseball, but he hasn’t shown much with the bat throughout his career.
Hayes has a career OPS+ of 92, and is coming off a 61 OPS+ showing.
The Pittsburgh Pirates extended him to an eight-year, $70 million deal, but with his offensive struggles, trading him could make sense.
Despite that, there’s “nothing imminent” on a trade for Hayes from the Pirates’ perspective, hurting the Yankees’ chances of landing him.
“It is entirely a rumor, and there is nothing to it,” Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote. “From conversations I’ve had within and outside the organization, there does not appear to be anything imminent on the trade front regarding Ke’Bryan Hayes.
“The Gold Glove third baseman’s best value, especially on his current contract, is to hope he returns to form with the Pirates. If not, then the contract certainly could be an albatross. But given his 2024 campaign, it would be very difficult to find fair value in any trade for Hayes.”
LeMahieu Injured Again
Right now, the New York Yankees having anyone other than LeMahieu could be a step in the right direction. Having a player on the field would be a help, and dealing with another setback, LeMahieu doesn’t look ready to go.
LeMahieu is dealing with a left calf injury, and even he can’t believe it.
“It’s probably gonna be a little bit before I start doing baseball stuff again,’’ LeMahieu said, according to Dan Martin of the New York Post.
The injuries aren’t breaking the veteran, however, as he noted that he’s confident and just wants to show he’s good enough to still play.
“I definitely feel very confident in myself,’’ LeMahieu said. “That hasn’t wavered at all. But at the same time, I keep getting blows. It’s discouraging, for sure. I know I’ve got something to give this team if I can stay healthy.”
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