Dodgers: Does DJ LeMahieu deal with Yankees ramp up Kris Bryant trade market?

The DJ LeMahieu sweepstakes are over. The New York Yankees have reportedly signed the AL batting champion to a six-year, $90 million contract, which now leaves the Los Angeles Dodgers back to where they started.

According to reports, including one this week, LA’s priority was always to bring back Justin Turner, but that hit a bit of an impasse when insiders suggested he was looking for a four-year deal. That apparently increased the Dodgers’ interest in LeMahieu, but it wasn’t enough interest. They reportedly offered him four years for $60 million.

But if the situation with Turner continues to lag, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman can head on over to Plan 1a and continue to explore the Kris Bryant trade market, which could very well pick up after LeMahieu’s deal with the Yankees.

The Dodgers have long been linked to Bryant, so don’t be so quick to rule this out just because the path to sign Turner became a bit more clear.

LeMahieu was being regarded as a third baseman by some in free agency to fill that vacancy on their roster, even though that’s not his primary position. Now, with fewer stars on the market and Bryant being a clear trade target, things could move fast.

Not only does LeMahieu’s contract do its job in beginning to settle the market, but it’ll likely put Bryant’s cost in a trade more into focus. He’s due nearly $19 million for 2021 and has been playing nowhere close to LeMahieu’s ungodly levels the past two years, so there’s a possibility his price decreases, especially since he’ll hit free agency in 2022. LeMahieu’s $15 million AAV changes the game a bit, one could argue.

Another thing? If Turner’s asking price in terms of contract money/length doesn’t come down after LeMahieu’s deal, that could shift the Dodgers’ focus to someone like Bryant, who might cost a lot for one year, but wouldn’t carry an onerous long-term commitment or a huge prospect haul to acquire.

Though the likely scenario is the Dodgers bringing back Turner, Bryant will remain in the periphery as long a there’s no pen to paper. And as the market begins to pick up some steam, any and all options will be on the table for the Dodgers, who badly need to fill their vacancy at the hot corner to successfully defend their World Series title.

Dodgers: MLB insider provides update on Justin Turner’s free agency

MLB insider Jon Heyman appeared on WFAN radio and dropped an interesting nugget about the Los Angeles Dodgers and Justin Turner in free agency.