Reinforcements are on the way for the New York Yankees as utility man DJ LeMahieu (calf) is headed to Seattle, will be activated off the injured list, and is expected to make his season debut on Wednesday in the team’s third game against the Mariners.
Injuries have plagued LeMahieu’s career, especially over the last three seasons, considering he hasn’t played 150-plus games since 2021.
It’s unlikely that the 36-year-old will return to his batting-champion-like ways, which the Yankees haven’t seen since 2020, when he finished third in the MVP voting during the shortened 60-game season.
But in 2019, LeMahieu finished fourth in MVP voting by slashing .327/.375/.518 with 26 home runs, 102 RBI, and added an All-Star game appearance and a Silver Slugger award.
The last glimpse of the old LeMahieu that Major League Baseball has seen was in 2022 when he won a Gold Glove award as a utility player. He played just 125 games that season, but he played 35 games at first base, 41 at second, and 47 at third.
In his absence, the Yankees have trotted out JazzChisholm Jr., prior to his injury, Jorbit Vitvas, and Pablo Reyes at second base, while Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera have gotten most of the reps at the hot corner.
Cabrera is expected to miss considerable time after suffering a gruesome leg injury during Monday night’s win over the Mariners.
New York has been searching for a lead-off hitter all season, as Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt, and Trent Grisham have been penciled in the most atop the lineup. The Austin Wells leadoff experiment didn’t last long, as it took the catcher some time to find his footing in the left-handed batter’s box.
While Rice and Goldschmidt are both having fantastic seasons, their abilities to drive in runners aren’t utilized when they bat leadoff. LeMahieu was the leadoff batter who took this lineup to another level when he could stay on the field, but it remains to be seen if he can stay healthy.
