ESPN’s Michael Kay ‘shocked’ by Yankees, DJ LeMahieu deal - nj.com

Michael Kay sounded like many in the Yankees universe.

He couldn’t believe what a great deal New York got for free agent second baseman DJ LeMahieu.

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Kay, while on his ESPN Radio show, said he was “shocked” that the Yankees were able to re-sign the 32-year-old for $90 million over six years. The sides came to the agreement Friday morning.

“Now, think about why I say shocked,” said Kay, who’s also the YES Network’s lead Yankees play-by-play man. “DJ LeMahieu won the batting title last year. DJ LeMahieu has finished in the top five in the MVP (race) in the two years that he played for the Yankees. And in those two years that he played to the Yankees, he had a two-year, $24 million deal. So, you do the math. Again, that’s $12 million a year. So, for being one of the best players in baseball — great defender, great base runner, clutch hitter, even in the postseason, which the Yankees have lacked. DJ LeMahieu got a $3 million raise. Think about that. Because to be just taking the offer that the Yankees gave him for arbitration, he would have gotten something close to $19 million for just one year. So the Yankees got one of the better players in baseball for $15 million a year.”

LeMahieu finished third in the AL MVP vote in 2020. In 2019, he finished fourth.

Kay praised the Yankees’ ability to lower LeMahieu’s annual average value — which relates to the luxury tax threshold — so that they could spend elsewhere without incurring penalties. The Yankees want to stay under the $210-million mark this season.

As of Friday morning, they had also discussed a potential one-year pact with free agent starting pitcher Corey Kluber, and hadn’t ruled out a reunion with Masahiro Tanaka.

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Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.

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