Another Man's Treasure
When the Royals and Yankees met in the 2024 playoffs there was a sharp contrast between the keen ability of the Yankees' hitters to work a walk and the chronic inability of the Royals' hitters to do so. In that four-game series, the Royals drew only seven walks to the Yankees twenty-seven – nearly four times as many!
So when I heard that long-time Yankee, DJ LeMahieu, was designated for assignment yesterday, I immediately wondered if one team's trash could be another team's treasure. I pulled up LeMahieu's Baseball Reference page and found his slash line for the season is .266/.338/.336 – very average sounding. Or is it? His OBP was only sixth highest with the Yankees, but if he was a Royal, he would have the third highest. With the Yankees, he was tied for the eleventh highest OPS+ (90). With the Royals he would have the sixth highest OPS+. With the Yankees, he was tied for the eighth highest WAR (0.7). With the Royals, he would be tied for the fifth highest WAR.
.243 |
.266 |
.327 |
.338 |
.337 |
.336 |
87 |
90 |
-0.2 |
0.7 |
Based purely on the above statistical comparison, which player would you choose between the two?
The stats are very similar except that Player A has contributed negative value and Player B has contributed positive value to his team. Player A is Jonathan India, who the Royal's front office traded for to set the table for Bobby Witt, Jr. I'm not suggesting that the Royals should sign DJ LeMahieu today and make him the leadoff hitter. But LeMahieu has a slightly higher walk rate this season (9.9%) than India (9.4%). He has a higher hard hit rate this season (52%) than India (38.5%). Even if LeMahieu isn't your leadoff hitter, he is still a professional hitter that can help to lengthen the Royals' lineup. He would be a significant upgrade over the following role players: Loftin (.234 OBP, 70 OPS+), Canha (.272 OBP, 52 OPS+), Rave (.275 OBP, 45 OPS+), Massey (.221 OBP, 34 OPS+) and Tolbert (.154 OBP, -31 OPS+).
I read that the Mariners are interested in LeMahieu. The Royals should make every effort to sign LeMahieu today. He could play some at 2B, 1B and DH. Quatraro has shown the ability to move pieces around to optimize the lineup. If he isn't inserted as the leadoff hitter, he could hit seventh behind Caglianone to give him some protection. This would be a smart move by JJ Picollo. LeMahieu would be a better acquisition than the bench players from the last two years (Mark Canha, Cavan Biggio, Garrett Hampson, Adam Frazier). He still knows how to take a walk – after all, he was a Yankee for the last seven years. John Rave is the only hitter on the active roster with a higher walk rate (11.3%) than LeMahieu (9.9%). It would be awesome if LeMahieu could help the Royals reach the playoffs, possibly get a chance to play against the Yankees, and take some walks to help the Royals win.