New York Yankees stars DJ LeMahieu and Aroldis Chapman were rewarded for strong 2019 seasons by making the inaugural All-MLB team.
The New York Yankees were twice represented on the inaugural All-MLB team, with infielder DJ LeMahieu making the first squad and closer Aroldis Chapman making the second.
The honorees were announced Tuesday by Commissioner Rob Manfred at the Winter Meetings in San Diego. MLB.com’s Sarah Langs posted the full results to Twitter.
The 2019 All-MLB First & Second Teams!
LOVE seeing this concept for baseball… Love the idea of honoring the full season's contributions from players, MLB-wide.
More info on the honorees from @castrovince:https://t.co/vz7VU4eYsj pic.twitter.com/lU2nHncwnB
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) December 10, 2019
Both LeMahieu and Chapman are more than deserving of the honor. LeMahieu signed a two-year deal with the Yankees last offseason and was originally expected to be a backup infielder of some sort. Instead, thanks to a bevy of injuries, he settled in as the leadoff hitter to tremendous results.
LeMahieu hit .327 with a career-high 26 home runs and 102 RBIs. He proved versatile in the field, spending time at second, first, and third base. In a remarkably cruel twist of fate, he was not a finalist for American League MVP.
Chapman too turned in another strong year as New York’s closer. He posted 37 saves in 60 appearances and had a 2.21 ERA while earning his sixth All-Star berth. Chapman also struck out 85 hitters in just 57 innings of work. At season’s end, rather than opt-out of his contract, he and the Yankees agreed to a one-year extension worth $18 million.
This honor is largely symbolic, but the Yankees can still use this to their advantage. General manager Brian Cashman has made it no secret how much he wants free-agent pitcher Gerrit Cole. Perhaps LeMahieu and Chapman making the All-MLB team can be a selling point.
After all, New York landed two players on these teams despite significant injuries all year. It takes a special kind of team to accomplish that.
