Another day gone, another day where DJ LeMahieu looks like a rare mistake from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
The veteran infielder hit another bump in his lost season on Monday thanks to a flurry of roster moves. Among them was promoting No. 1 prospect Jasson Dominguez, who hit .314 in the minors while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
In an ensuing move, LeMahieu was placed on the IL himself with a sudden right hip impingement. Manager Aaron Boone called it a “lingering” issue while speaking to reporters ahead of Monday’s 10-4 win over the Royals. Furthermore, this surprise injury has been dogging the two-time batting champion for “a few weeks.”
Of course, the Yankees had no answer as to if LeMahieu would return at the tail end of the season. If he’s done, he finishes the worst season of his career with a .204 batting average and an awful wRC+ of 50 in just 67 games.
That only leaves the more important question: What about next year? LeMahieu has two years and $30 million left on his original six-year deal, plus ten-and-five rights. The Yankees cannot trade him unless he agrees to the move himself.
This leaves one of three routes, both of which the fans know all too well. One is simple: DJ LeMahieu goes the way of Josh Donaldson and/or Aaron Hicks. A clean release and he still gets paid in full.
The second is probably what works for everyone, but also the most unlikely. Come the offseason, the Yankees and LeMahieu would sit down and negotiate some sort of buyout.
The third, unfortunately, is the near-certainty. DJ LeMahieu will be with the Yankees in spring training next year and penciled in as a regular. After all, he was hitting .375 in his last five games before hitting the IL. He totally deserves another shot!
Oh please. Can we stop kidding ourselves? LeMahieu will be 36 next year and has looked a shell of himself since 2021. He hit .336 with a 146 OPS+ in his first two years in pinstripes, only to bat .252 with a sub-average OPS+ of 95 in the four since. Be it age or the juiced baseballs of years past, DJ LeMahieu has not lived up to the deal.
And what about the Yankees’ crowded infield? Gleyber Torres is all but gone in free agency, which allows Jazz Chisholm to return to his natural position at second base. At third, an Oswaldo Cabrera/Oswald Peraza platoon makes the most sense. Rookie Ben Rice will be ready to take over first base.
DJ LeMahieu is so obviously the odd man out. And yet, given recent history, the Yankees will probably keep him. That doesn’t solve the roster crunch, serves nobody, and is just generally frustrating.
Thus is the New York Yankees legacy of DJ LeMahieu, or lack thereof. Much like former Yankee Mark Teixeira, he had one or two good years before becoming a payroll albatross. The only difference is Teixeira helped the team to a World Series title in 2009.
It was a good, fun ride with DJ LeMahieu, but now it’s over. He overachieved for two years and is otherwise a very average hitter. Forget his four Gold Gloves, his fielding has also been on the decline. Everything adds up to multiple reasons the Yankees should just move on from LeMahieu.
But they probably won’t.
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