Report: Yankees sign DJ LeMahieu to two-year deal

The New York Yankees signed another infielder, but it wasn’t Manny Machado. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu will join the Yankees on a two-year deal, according to YES Network’s Jack Curry. LeMahieu will make $24 million over two seasons, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.

With the Yankees, LeMahieu will get a chance to move all around the infield. The team plans to use him at multiple positions. Perhaps more importantly, the signing signals the Yankees are likely out on Machado.

The team may have already sent that message after signing Troy Tulowitzki, but some fans still held out hope considering Tulowitzki’s low cost and injury history. By bringing in another infielder in LeMahieu, the Yankees no longer have room another infielder, even if Machado would represent a massive upgrade.

A two-time All-Star, LeMahieu has spent the last seven years with the Rockies where he’s greatly benefited from playing his home games in Colorado. While his career slash line reads .298/.350/.406 his home and away splits tell a much different story.

At Coors Field, LeMahieu batted .329/.386/.447 while he hit for .264/.311/.362 on the road. Even still, his numbers are good enough away from Denver to merit placement among the top available second baseman on the market. Along with Daniel Murphy and Brian Dozier, LeMahieu is one of the most reliable free agent infielders in 2018 —not to mention the youngest of the bunch at 30-years-old — and is the only one of the three to win a Gold Glove in three of the last five seasons.

He might not come close to recreating a season like he had in 2016 when he lead the league in batting average (.348), but LeMahieu can still provide tremendous value both at the plate and defensively. Considering his numbers dipped a bit in his contract year, it’s fair to expect a bit of a rebound once he gets settled into his new deal.

This is LeMahieu’s first offseason as a free agent. He earned $8.5 million on a one-year deal with Colorado last season. The Rockies acquired the infielder from the Chicago Cubs back in December of 2011 along with Tyler Colvin for Casey Weathers and Ian Stewart.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee

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