Blue Jays desperately want DJ LeMahieu but does he want them?

The Toronto Blue Jays reportedly desperately want to sign free agent DJ LeMahieu, however, it is unknown if the feeling is mutual.

As a die-hard Blue Jays fan, I find myself enthralled with the possibilities of the team adding superstar talent this offseason. I seldom consider the uphill battle that the brain trust may face when attempting to lure free agents north of the border.

This could even be more challenging in light of the COVID pandemic and the possibility of the Blue Jays forced to seek out a temporary home once again in 2021. It is no secret that Toronto often has to overpay or add an additional term to a contract to seal the deal, case in point was the Russell Martin contract in which the Jays added a fifth season and he was from our home and native land.

There have been reports that the New York Yankees and DJ LeMahieu are $25 million dollars apart in contract discussions. Michael Kay of ESPN recently acknowledged that he knows for a fact from people in Toronto that Ross Atkins and company desperately want the batting champ.

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Former Colorado Rockies General Manager Dan O’Dowd who knows LeMahieu extremely well from his days in the Rocky Mountain state opined that “I don’t think DJ is going to go to a place that he doesn’t want to go and play on a team that he doesn’t want to play on.”

There is no saying that LeMahieu doesn’t want to come to Toronto but you can guarantee the Blue Jays will have to be in that $100 million dollar range and considerably higher than the Yankees offer to persuade LeMahieu to come north.

With George Springer and Trevor Bauer seemingly garnering most of the chat these days, LeMahieu could fall into the Jays lap, if in fact, Toronto is on his radar as one of his potential destinations.