Braves: The 1 Free Agent Nobody is Mentioning – DJ LeMahieu

There has been a lot of speculation about which free agents the Atlanta Braves might target this offseason. But there is one nobody is talking about.

If you read between the lines in a lot of my articles then you probably know I’m not a huge fan of the all-of-nothing type of offense the Atlanta Braves designed in 2020.

Yes, it’s fun when it’s clicking. But it’s beyond frustrating when it’s not (like the last three games of the NLCS).

I’ve been a big advocate for them acquiring more hitters that are going to give you professional at-bats every time they step in the box — as the Dodgers’ hitters did on their run to a World Series title.

It may not be the flashiest type of offense or one that makes the highlights, but I’m so tired of seeing us strand runners at third with less than two outs.

That’s why I’ve also been keen on them signing Michael Brantley because I think he’s that type of hitter.

But another free agent that is the poster child for being a professional hitter is DJ LeMahieu.

Nobody has been mentioning him as a possibility for the Braves — for a number of valid reasons — but I think he would be the perfect fit.

DJ has made it clear that he’d like to go back to the Yankees, which is why many haven’t considered him for anyone else.

He’s primarily a second baseman and the Braves already have a young stud at that position.

And he comes with a qualifying offer from the Yankees attached and I’m not sure Atlanta will want to give away any draft picks this offseason considering the state of their farm system and only having four picks in last year’s five-round draft.

The other thing is he’s 32 years old and MLBTR is predicting that he’ll get a four-year deal for around $70. That seems like a steep price for someone his age.

But he’s also that type of hitter that seems like he’ll age well. I mean, he’s only been getting better as he’s gotten older.

His average has gone from.276 to .327 to .264 the past three seasons. He’s hit .301 or better in five of the last six seasons.

He doesn’t give you a ton of power; although he hit 26 in 2019, but everyone hit home runs in 2019.

More than likely he’s going to hit 15-20 home runs over an entire season.

LeMahieu has also been pretty reliable playing in at least 145 games in all but one season from 2014-2019.

And then my favorite part, he’s only struck out more than 100 times in a season once and that came back in 2015.

For those still wondering where you play him, he has logged over 700 innings at third base throughout his career, including 400 innings there for the Yankees in 2019.

He’s not nearly as good of a defender there, but he can get the job done.

You also have to figure with the DH likely coming, and with him getting up there in age, he’d be a perfect fit to be the team’s primary DH.

I know you’ll have the Braves fans saying, “If you’re going to pay that much for LeMahieu, I’d rather just sign Ozuna.”

And I get that, but I think the Braves lineup needs a hitter like LeMahieu — a couple, actually.

If Ozuna becomes too expensive and you can get LeMahieu for three years and around $50 million, then I hope the Braves are all over him.