Could the A's add payroll in this deal with the New York Yankees?

Jason Burke | 2 Hours Ago

Aug 4, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman DJ LeMahieu (26) celebrates after hitting a game-winning RBI singe during the tenth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Athletics are looking to improve, and they're looking to increase payroll. The goal next season is to finish at 81-81, and the building process to make that happen begins now. With the A's move to Sacramento for the next three or four seasons, the front office is unsure how free agents will feel about signing on with the club, which would leave the trade route the most efficient way to improve for 2025 and beyond. They could even lend the New York Yankees a hand.

The one problem is that the A's are attempting to build up their own roster, so trading away top prospects or integral pieces of the 26-man roster isn't going to help the team improve. That is why many believe that in order to both set themselves up for the future, improve now, and also increase payroll, the A's may be looking to take on some bad contracts with prospects attached.

The Yankees have lost both Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo to free agency, making this target a little more difficult to acquire, but give his injury-plagued 2024 and the down year he had overall, perhaps the Bombers end up listening on DJ LeMahieu, who is penciled in at first base over at Roster Resource.

LeMahieu, 36, is owed $15 million over each of the next two seasons, which is still an affordable deal for the A's, who have a current projected payroll of $37 million. Last year's number was $63 million, so they'll have to spend a decent amount to get to where they were in 2024, then tack on a little more to actually increase the payroll year-over-year. Perhaps they end up around $80 million. With so many pre-arb players on the roster, the Athletics will have room to add a big contract or two.

If the A's were to go after LeMahieu, it wouldn't be to play first base, however. Instead, the A's could have him serve as their answer at third base for the next year or two, and if he gets injured, then that just opens up more opportunity for guys like Darell Hernaiz, Max Schuemann, Brett Harris or Max Muncy to take hold of the position down the line.

LeMahieu may not be what he once was with the bat, he still hit .243 with a .327 OBP, 15 homers and a .717 OPS in 2023, which is a solid league-average bat. In contrast, the A's used six different players at third base in 2024 who combined for a 79 wRC+, or 21% below league average. He would be an upgrade.

The real kicker for LeMahieu is his defense, which has been terrific. Since Baseball Savant introduced Fielding Run Value back in 2016. LeMahieu has ranked as a top-30 defender overall while racking up over 2,000 innings at the hot corner. Over the past three seasons, he has accumulated a +5, +3, and another +5 in Outs Above Average at the position. The A's want to get better defensively heading into 2025, and LeMahieu certainly ticks that box.

Obviously the Yankees are still looking to contend in 2025 and beyond after falling short in the World Series, and it's not like LeMahieu's contract is going to be holding them back from any bigger moves that they'd want to make, like re-signing Juan Soto. Still, this trade could make it a little easier for the pinstripes to make a Soto reunion happen.

The Yankees currently have a projected payroll of $238 million per Roster Resource, and that is with some pretty big holes on the roster after the departures of Torres, Rizzo, and Soto. With Soto being rumored to sign at over $40 million per season for the next 14 years, the Yankees will be looking at paying the competitive balance tax at the highest tier for the foreseeable future. That means that for every dollar they spend over the CBT ($241 million in 2025), they will be taxed 50%.

That $30 million owed to LeMahieu looms a little larger with the Yankees in the penalty. While shedding his contract wouldn't help keep them out of the danger zone, it would be a cost-cutting measure that would make it just a little easier financially.

The main question in a potential trade would be whether the Yankees see themselves as able to cobble together a solid roster without him, and what kind of a return the A's would be looking at in order to take on that contract.

If the A's asked for two prospects, say New York's No. 11 and 21 guys on MLB Pipeline, there may be a deal to be had. The Yankees No. 11 prospect is Henry Lalane, a 6-foot-7, 20-year-old left-hander that is going to take years to develop, but has some solid potential.

The No. 21 prospect, Roc Riggio, was teammates with Max Muncy in High School, and having three Thousand Oaks High players on the big league roster would be a fun story, with Riggio and Muncy theoretically joining Jacob Wilson. Riggio is listed as a second baseman that stole 27 bases in High-A last season and is seen as a potential 20-homer guy.

In return, the A's would have to give a little something up, potentially a combo deal that includes Seth Brown along with one of the third base options--particularly Hernaiz or Brett Harris.

The trade pieces themselves are purely guesswork, but the framework of a deal that involves DJ LeMahieu ending up with the A's makes some sense for both clubs.