4 Yankees officially become free agents, including DJ LeMahieu

Four Yankees officially hit MLB free agency Wednesday.

INF DJ LeMahieu and C Erik Kratz made for the two position players while a pair of pitchers -- left-hander James Paxton and right-hander Masahiro Tanaka -- also were declared free agents.

The Yankees quartet was among a total of 147 MLB players to do so.

Chief among the contingent of Yankees is LeMahieu, who is a top offseason priority for GM Brian Cashman after a career-best two-year run with the franchise.

LeMahieu, whom Cashman signed in January of 2019 to a two-year contract for $24 million after he played his first eight MLB seasons on the Chicago Cubs (2011) and Colorado Rockies (2012-18), did not disappoint.

In addition to playing second base, first base and third base, LeMahieu's bat carried the Yankees at times.

LeMahieu was an All-Star selection, the third honor of his career, in 2019. Through 145 regular season games, he slashed .327/.375/.518 with 26 home runs -- 11 more than his previous personal-best 15 from 2018 -- and 102 RBI, a second career-high mark that smashed the previous 66 in 2016.

In 2020, the 32-year-old LeMahieu picked up where he left off from his second season, winning the MLB batting title after slashing .364/.421/.590. In 50 games, LeMahieu recorded 10 home runs and 27 RBI.

Cashman acquired Paxton in a November 2018 trade that sent three prospects -- including a top one, LHP Justus Sheffield -- to the Seattle Mariners. Paxton, who turns 32 on Nov. 6, produced a mixed batch of results in two seasons from 2019-20 -- 16-7 with a 4.16 ERA and 212 strikeouts to 62 walks through the combined 171 innings over 34 starts.

Tanaka, who turns 32 on Nov. 1, spent all seven of his first MLB seasons as a Yankees starter from 2014-20. A two-time All-Star selection, he had his ups and downs.

Altogether, Tanaka went 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA in the 173 starts (174 games) of work over 1,054.1 innings pitching, striking out 991 while walking 208. His latest season was mixed, going 3-3 with a 3.56 ERA in 10 starts over 48 innings, but his postseason -- where he largely showed up the previous years -- was a disappointment.