What 'winner' LeMahieu means to Yankees

This is how Buck Showalter describes what DJ LeMahieu has meant to the Yankees just over the two seasons he has played for them:

“DJ is who you are,” is the way Buck puts it.

Now LeMahieu, who was one of the finalists for the American League MVP Award on Thursday night before José Abreu won it, is a free agent. So he goes back on the market after he left the Rockies and signed with the Yankees for two years and $24 million, which makes him one of the best free-agent signings the Yankees have had in a long time.

• Hot Stove Tracker

You know Trevor Bauer, newly minted National League Cy Young Award winner, is on the market now, and so is J.T. Realmuto, a great catcher, and you know how rarely somebody like that is on the market.

And the talk continues to grow louder that the Tribe is ready to move the young WAR star, Francisco Lindor, if the price is right for him.

But there is no better hitter out there, for as long as he’s out there, than LeMahieu, who was the Yankees’ MVP the last two seasons, and is the only hitter in the modern era to have won batting championships in both leagues. He hit .364 in 50 games this season. He can play second, third or first. In 2019, he knocked in 102 runs, and his last swing of the season produced as dramatic a postseason home run -- even in defeat -- as the Yankees have had since Aaron Boone hit a walk-off shot in Game 7 of the 2003 AL Championship Series.

It was the two-run homer in the ninth inning of Game 6 against the Astros, one that tied that game before Jose Altuve won it with a walk-off of his own in the bottom of the ninth.

And did I mention that in the world of shifts LeMahieu is considered to have one of the most reliable shift-proof swings in the sport?

LeMahieu is 32 years old, clearly in his prime, clearly worth a four-year deal or even more than that, for a lot more money than he probably thought he would ever get after leaving Colorado. Say this again: He hasn’t just been the Yankees’ MVP for two years running. He has been their best player. Not Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton, who haven’t been able to stay on the field over this same time frame. Not even Gleyber Torres, who hit 38 homers in 2019 before fading in the short season of '20.

Now LeMahieu could walk out the door. One more time, ask yourself again when the last time was that the Yankees’ best player walked out the door? The answer is never. And it has sure never happened because of money.

Not only are they diminished if he leaves, but look who will be lined up wanting to talk to him:

The Blue Jays. They nearly finished ahead of the Yankees this season in the AL East, and they are poised to do that again, and maybe for a while.

The Mets. Whatever their new owner, Steve Cohen, says about not competing against the Yankees, you think he doesn’t want to? And Mr. Cohen, the richest owner in baseball history, absolutely does have money to spend, and money that is burning a hole in his extremely deep pockets.

And you know who else could use a second baseman and clubhouse presence like DJ LeMahieu? The Red Sox. And the Nationals are reportedly looking for protection in their batting order for Juan Soto.

I asked Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Thursday why he thinks DJ LeMahieu has become this valuable in New York.

“Because he values the little things,” Roberts said. “And he never gives away an at-bat. Plays every pitch on defense.”

Then the skipper of the World Series champs added this one last word to describe LeMahieu:

“Winner.”

Look at what Roberts said, the words he used. You know who could have been discussed in terms like this once?

Derek Jeter.

The Yankees made LeMahieu a qualifying offer, which both sides knew he would reject. He said something at the end of the season about wanting to stay with the Yankees. But this is his chance to get paid now, to get the kind of big contract he has earned. Maybe he has a number, and a number of years, in his head. Only he and his agent know that. Or maybe if the Blue Jays do come calling, or the Mets, or the Red Sox, or somebody else, and a bidding war ensues, it will be the market that decides.

There are other flashy names out there in this baseball offseason. You know how flashy Judge and Stanton are when the Yankees are hitting home runs. That’s not who DJ LeMahieu is. But Showalter is right. He is who the Yankees need to be if they’re going to win another World Series anytime soon.

In our conversation, Showalter referenced the great Yankees teams of the late '90s, ones that eventually won four World Series in five years, and nearly six in eight.

“You tell me how many guys on this [Yankees] team could have played on those teams,” Showalter said. “But I’ll tell you one who could have: DJ LeMahieu.”