The Yankees are placing infielder DJ LeMahieu on the injured list with a sports hernia, according to manager Aaron Boone, as relayed by several reporters, including Marly Rivera of ESPN. LeMahieu last played September 30th, missing the past few games with the injury, meaning the soonest he could return to the club would be if they qualified for the ALCS. Right-handed pitcher Luis Gil is taking his spot on the active roster.
This is very unfortunate timing for the Yankees, as they are currently trying to wriggle out of a four-team logjam for the two American League Wild Card spots. They and the Red Sox are going into the final scheduled day of the season just one game ahead of the Blue Jays and Mariners in the standings. With the potential for various one-game tiebreakers and then the Wild Card game itself, each team will be taking an all-hands-on-deck approach in order to survive. Boone says, as relayed by Rivera in a separate tweet, that LeMahieu worked out today before the very late decision was made. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com quotes Boone as saying LeMahieu is “too compromised” to play right now.
It’s been a disappointing season for the 33-year-old, perhaps because of the injury. In his first Yankees contract, over 2019 and 2020, LeMahieu hit an excellent .336/.386/.536, which amounts to a wRC+ of 146, all while having the versatility of playing multiple positions around the infield. On the heels of that excellent performance, the Yankees re-signed LeMahieu to a six-year, $90MM contract in the most recent offseason. Unfortunately, the first year of the deal has seen LeMahieu’s production drop off to a line of .268/.349/.362, a wRC+ of 100. Nevertheless, that league-average production being put on the shelf is still a loss for the club. Rougned Odor is slotting into third base for the Yanks today, and he has a 2021 slash line of .201/.286/.379, wRC+ of just 82.
As for Gil, he adds another arm to the Yankees’ stable at a time when they might need a lot of them over the next few days. In six starts at the big league level this year, he’s logged 29 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.07. He’s likely to be used as a long-relief option, though, as Jameson Taillon is starting today’s game, with Gerrit Cole the planned starter for whatever game the Yankees play next, be that some kind of tie-breaker or the Wild Card game.
Explains him hitting for no power this year
He is nop a power hitter anyway so ✅
He’s a power hitter at Yankee Stadium
So is everyone else
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Draughts and pears for a beady uncovery.
He’s 33; what a foolish move for soon to be former GM Cashman to bring him back on a three year deal. Oops! A six year deal. What a mess.
6 years is a bit much, however, the market was there for him to recieve a 5 year deal and the Yanks did not want him to go somewhere else. in addition I’d argue of the various types of hitters, his style of hitting provides a benefit into his later years opposed to a top heavy power hitter.
I think DJ has had the most disappointing season on the ’21 Yanks.
The effect of having a well under league average hitter out of the leadoff spot has been really hard to overcome. His defense has been poor. He’s been up to the plate in a lot of big spots & has seemingly *never* come up with a timely hit.
I honestly don’t think we will miss him much. Maybe as a platoon 3rd baseman. But he has thus far been a huge waste of money.
His OBP made him the logical choice for leadoff by default.
But yeah as Frank Drebin would say, DJ has been quite a bust.
A .340 OB% is fairly pedestrian, @FPGuy. Particularly out of the leadoff spot. Not a whole lot of catalyzing goin’ on.
Rule of thumb: never re-sign a free agent 32 or older to anything more than a two year deal.
The more important question is, how disappointing should this season be considered? With CO, his HR/FB averaged about 7% If you consider the last two seasons to be outliers, at 19.3% and 27.0%, is the current season 7.7% really low, or just a little low?
Same with BABIP. His BABIP this year is lower by 32 points than it was in Mile High stadium, but it is also not particularly shocking.
Or, put another way, his OPS+ was 93 in Colorado. Should an OPS+ of 97 be considered at all unusual, especially considering he is 33.
@Brady –
LeMahieu was probably difficult for the Yanks to project in all fairness. The Coors field effect + a swing that capitalized on their park’s dimensions seems like a pretty crazy math problem. He has – however – played the role of Rally Killer to perfection. So.
Equally disturbing was how bad he played with the glove. Maybe Boone gave him the same defensive pointers he gives all our guys.
& of course:
Go Yanks.
red sox suck.
@Ducky I always respect your opinion and yes DJ has been a huge disappointment this year. Wonder how much that sports hernia and other nagging injuries have effected his poor year. Suspect going forward he becomes the utility infielder he was originally signed to be filling in at First, Second, and Third. It will be very interesting to see which if any shortstop they go after in the off season.
Merci, @Mickey & backatcha.
So that’s the question ain’t it? In a weird way this is kind of good news. It means something physical is wrong with him which is correctable. He has a pretty minor & specific role with this club at the moment. So he is really not much of a loss.
Gotta get a win today, man.
Hope Taillon’s ankle can hold up.
Go Yanks.
33 years old might not be correctable. I’d expect a comeback of sorts in the hitting, but he is unlikely to run better or field better.
Well it’s better than, “he just sucks now”.
Ya know?
Go Yanks.
red sox suck.
I think that ‘better than’ might be a bit subjective. I have no philosophical objection to “he just sucks now”.
Ya got me there, @Brady.
More than “a bit” actually. & I am sure you do not.
I hope we kick the snot out of the sox. Obviously.
The thing is he hasn’t consistently been great. He’s been good overall and had a couple of great seasons but hasn’t consistently done this his career. Still has been overall good though and has a decent OBP.
Is it World Series or bust for Boone’s tenure with the Bronx Bombers?
Yes maybe at least ALCS. A lot of their wins are in spite of him
For the Yankees every year is WS or bust regardless of manager.
Hope this is it for him, win or lose. He’s shown time and time again he has no idea what he’s doing managing games and it out managed every time it matters
If Boone is gone, who is the fave to be tapped tp manage the Yanks next?
I got to say Buck $howwalter as the new manager and @Ducky Buckin Fent to replace Ca$hman as the new GM.
Metsfan22 is also being considered as GM. He’s so bad that all you can do is get better
Really have to wonder when the injury happened, and if he’s played with it all year, why?
Really seems the Yanks are prone to letting guys play hurt and bringing them back from the IL too soon to get hurt some more.
The guy’s been above average in three seasons of his 11 year career. Maybe he’s just not that good? I mean if he’s below average for over 70% of his career? He sounds like the Brock Holt of the yankees. I get it. We all have our favorites. But the data is on the side of mediocrity. He had a hell of a run but it was a sprint.
“Bryan Hoch of MLB.com quotes Boone as saying LeMahieu is “too compromised” to play right now.”
Dr. Boonedoggle is a graduate of Vague University. He practices in the Obfuscation Ward of the Mayormaynot Clinic.
Shouldn’t be surprising that LaMahieu is struggling. Players decline quickly when they decline due to age and he is well at that age. Bad, bad contract.
BS, he hit .364 last year, maybe there is a problem we’re not hearing about, unless @Cosmo2 you know more than the rest of us?
He also had a .370 BABIP. And a HR/FB% of 27%. It is entirely possible that those two percentages are not sustainable, especially for someone 32+.
What I know is that, as I said, historically decline happens very often SUDDENLY. Therefore, his BA last year means nothing other than it is the number from which the sudden drop off will occur. So perhaps I do know more than some of you, if you don’t know that. Perhaps you don’t know what “quickly” means, Curley. The problem is AGE.
Small sample size. His stats have been all over the place in his career but he does have a career .300 batting average. OBP is good.
Will He Be Ready For Spring Training,After His Operation?