RUN IT BACK

Yankees, LeMahieu finalizing $90 million, 6-year deal

NEW YORK (AP) » The New York Yankees and AL batting champion DJ LeMahieu are working to finalize a six-year contract worth about $90 million, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement is subject to a successful physical. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first to break the news.

“If you add up the last two years in Major League Baseball, he’s on the short list of short lists for being the best player in the sport,” Yanks manager Aaron Boone said after the season ended. “He’s been that impactful. In the biggest moments, he always seems to deliver.”

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.

The second baseman finished in third place in the American League MVP voting over the winter. LeMahieu, who won the 2016 NL batting title with a .348 average, joins Hall of Eamer Ed Delahanty as

the only other player to accomplish the feat. The Yankees star is the only player to win the batting title in both leagues in the World Series Era.

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.

Earlier in the offseason, LeMahieu rejected the oneyear, $18.9 million qualifying offer he received from the Yankees. If finalized as reported, the new deal would pay him about $15 million per season, through the 2026 season. He made $12 million in 2020, finishing the shorted season with 10 home runs, 41 runs scored and 27 RBIs, and he led the AL in on-base percentage (.421), OPS (1.011) and OPS+ (177).

Combined through his first two season, LeMahieu hit .336 over a span of 195 games. He hit 36 home runs, with 129 RBIs and 150 runs scored. Over that span, he led the majors with 80 multi-hit games.

Normally a mainstay in the lineup throughout the season, he only had one hiccup during the 2020 season.

COREY SIPKIN - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS New York Yankees’ DJ LeMahieu celebrates at second base after hitting a two-run double during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Yankee Stadium in New York, in this Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, file photo.

KATHY WILLENS - THE ASSOCIATED PRESS New York Yankees third baseman DJ LeMahieu throws to first during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium in New York, in this Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020, file photo.