Yankee infielder DJ Lemahieu Lemahieu himself recently underwent an MRI after adjusting his calf muscles during his spring debut and was diagnosed with a strain, he himself told The Yankees this morning (via Greg Joyce of The New York Post). It’s the pressure of grade 1 or 2, and while there is no formal schedule yet, Lemahieu is going to at least “a few weeks” without any baseball activities at all. Although the fleet hasn’t officially announced too much, it seems likely that it will exclude him from opening day. He met with the team’s medical staff this morning to set a schedule.
This is another healthy setback for Lemahieu, 36, who played in just 67 games last season due to foot and hip injuries. He was also not productive when in the wild, hitting .204/.269/.259 on just 228 trips to the plate. Lemahieu posted a career low on average exit speed and hard hit rate, with his 56.4% ground rate being the second highest score in his career, ranking sixth in the MLB (minimum 220 sets). This is obviously not a good trend for a player whose running speed is at the 20th percentage point of a major league position.
The Yankees initially signed Lemahieu for two years in the 2018-19 offseason, a $24mm deal. It turns out to be one of the best free agent pickups they remember recently, as he released the Mammoth .336/.386/.536 in the past two years, finishing the top four in the MVP votes in 2019 and 2020. The Yankees re-signed Lemahieu for $90mm for the following winter. That’s the sum he expected to get on a four-year deal, but the Yankees stretched it out over six seasons to mitigate the luxury tax blow. He never regained the 2019-20 peak table, but Lemahieu is a solid and versatile contributor to 2021-23, hitting .258/.345/.375 at first, second and third bases.
Despite the poor performance in 2024, Lemahieu entered the camp directly among the regular representatives of the third base. Yankees’ budget seems to be at its limit. They have added an infielder to second or third base (Jazz Chisholm Jr. Can play anywhere), seemingly dedicated to using internal options. Lemahieu, the highest prospect Oswald Peraza and practical Oswaldo Cabrera Always compete for game time in popular corners.
Lemahieu’s remaining two years and 30mm will always put him in the lineup in some form of role, but his injury opens the door for a young choice at third base – whether it’s Peraza, Cabrera or maybe Jorbit Vivas. Vivas didn’t debut until this week. He has been dealing with some shoulder soreness, but he is likely to be playing in third base now. He is already in the 40-man lineup.
