Yankees make big moves
New York reaches deal with Kluber; LeMahieu signs for six years
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees made a pair of big moves on the free agent market, reaching a deal with right-hander Corey Kluber worth $11 million for one year and agreeing to a $90 million, six-year contract to keep AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because each agreement is subject to a successful physical.
Kluber, the 2014 and 2017 AL Cy Young Award winner, won 56 games for Cleveland over the 2016-18 seasons, then missed the rest of the 2019 season after he was hit on the right forearm that May 1 by a comebacker off the bat of Miami’s Brian Anderson. He finished 2-3 with a 5.80 ERA in seven starts.
Traded after the season to Texas, Kluber tore a muscle in his right shoulder in his Rangers debut on July 26, finishing his season after one inning. The injury did not require surgery, and he held a workout for scouts on Wednesday.
Kluber, who turns 35 on
April 10, is a three-time All-Star who is 98-58 with a 3.16 ERA in 10 seasons, the first nine with the Indians.
He joins a rotation headed by Gerrit Cole that also includes Deivi Garcia, lefthander Jordan Montgomery and, at some point, Luis Severino when he returns from Tommy John surgery last Feb. 27. It is not clear whether the Yankees will re-sign Masahiro Tanaka, who became a free agent.
LeMahieu, who turns 33 in July, became the first player to win undisputed batting titles in both leagues. He won his first AL batting title last year at .364, the highest average for an AL batting champion since Minnesota’s Joe Mauer hit .365 in 2009, after winning the NL championship with Colorado in 2016.
A three-time All-Star, LeMahieu signed a $24 million, two-year contract with the Yankees in January 2019. He had 10 homers and 27 RBIs in the shortened 2020 season after hitting .327 with 26 homers and 102 RBIs in his first season in New York.
LeMahieu started his big league career with the Chicago Cubs in 2011, then was traded to Colorado. He has a .305 average with 85 homers and 478 RBIs in 10 big league seasons, and he has won three Gold Gloves at second base.
JUDGE, YANKEES AGREE TO $10,175,000, 1-YEAR CONTRACT
Aaron Judge and the Yankees avoided arbitration when they agreed Friday to a one-year contract worth $10,175,000.
New York also reached deals with catcher Gary Sanchez ($6.35 million), first baseman Luke Voit ($4.7 million), third baseman Gio Urshela ($4.65 million), shortstop Gleyber
Torres ($4 million), righthander reliever Chad Green ($2.15 million), left-hander Jordan Montgomery ($2.13 million) and outfielder Clint Frazier ($2.1 million).
No Yankees remain eligible for arbitration.
Judge had his third straight injury-interrupted season since winning the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year award, hitting .257 with nine homers and 22 RBIs in 101 at-bats and 28 games. After homering in his first five games, he strained his right calf and played just once between Aug. 11 and Sept. 16.
The two-time All-Star was limited to 112 games in 2018 by a broken bone in his right wrist when hit by a pitch from Kansas City’s Jakob Junis and to 102 games in 2019 by a strained oblique muscle.
He earned $3,148,148 in prorated pay last year from an $8.5 million salary. Judge is eligible for free agency after the 2022 season.
Sanchez had his third straight subpar season, hitting a career-worst .147 with 10 homers and 24 RBIs along with 64 strikeouts in 156 at-bats, then was benched for five of seven postseason games in favor of Kyle Higashioka.
A two-time All-Star, Sanchez hit .278 with 33 homers and 90 RBIs in 2017, dropped to .186 with 18 homers and 53 RBIs in 2018, then hit .232 with 34 homers and 77 RBIs in 2019, when he struck out a career-high 125 times. He earned $1,851,852 in prorated pay last year from a $5 million salary.
Voit hit .277 with a major league-high 22 homers and 52 RBIs, rebounding from core muscle surgery to repair an injury that hampered him during the second half of the 2019 season.
Voit earned $234,815 prorated last year from a $634,000 salary. New York obtained him from St. Louis in July 2018 for left-hander Chasen Shreve and
right-hander Giovanny Gallegos.
Urshela hit .298 with six homers and 30 RBIs in 151 at-bats after batting .314 with 21 homers and 74 RBIs in 2019 after taking over from injured Miguel Andujar as the Yankees’ starting third baseman. He earned $916,667 prorated from a $2,475,000 salary. Urshela’s contract was purchased from Toronto for $1 in August 2018. He is recovering from surgery on Dec. 3 to remove a bone chip from his right elbow.
Shifting from second base to shortstop following the departure of Didi Gregorius, Torres showed limited range and slumped at the plate to a .243 average, three homers and 16 RBIs in 136 at-bats.
The two-time All-Star, acquired in the July 2016 trade that sent closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs, hit .278 with 38 homers and 90 RBIs in 2019. He earned $250,222 prorated last year from a $675,600 salary and was eligible for arbitration for the first time.
A hard-throwing righthander, Green was 3-3 with a 3.51 ERA and one save, striking out 32 in 25 2/3 innings. He earned $472,222 from a $1,275,000 salary.
A 28-year-old left-hander, Montgomery was 2-3 with a 5.11 ERA in 10 starts in his first full season following Tommy John surgery in June 2018. He earned $298,148 prorated from an $805,000 salary.
Frazier had his best season last year since he was acquired from Cleveland in the July 2016 trade that sent left-hander Andrew Miller to the Indians. Showing improved defense, Frazier hit .267 with eight homers and 26 RBIs in 131 at-bats. With 2 years, 149 days of major league service, Frazier was eligible for arbitration for the first time. He earned $217,815 in prorated pay last year from a $588,100 salary.