Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu recently underwent an MRI after tweaking a calf muscle during his spring debut and has been diagnosed with a strain, LeMahieu himself told the Yankees beat this morning (via Greg Joyce of the New York Post). It’s a Grade 1 or 2 strain, and while there’s no official timetable yet, LeMahieu will go at least a “couple” weeks without any baseball activity at all. That seems likely to rule him out for Opening Day, though the team hasn’t yet formally announced as much. He’s meeting with the team’s medical staff this morning to map out a timetable.
It’s another health setback for the 36-year-old LeMahieu, who appeared in just 67 games last season due to foot and hip injuries. He wasn’t productive when on the field either, batting just .204/.269/.259 with a pair of homers in 228 trips to the plate. LeMahieu posted career-low marks in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate, and his 56.4% ground-ball rate was the second-highest mark of his career and sixth-highest in MLB (min. 220 plate appearances). For a player whose sprint speed checked into the 20th percentile of big league position players, that’s obviously not a good trend.
The Yankees originally signed LeMahieu to a two-year, $24MM deal in the 2018-19 offseason. It proved to be one of their best free agent pickups in recent memory, as he posted a mammoth .336/.386/.536 over those two years, finishing top-four in MVP voting in both 2019 and 2020. The Yankees re-signed LeMahieu for $90MM the following winter. That’s about the sum he was expected to land over a four-year pact, but the Yankees stretched it out over six seasons to lighten the luxury tax hit. He’s never recaptured that peak 2019-20 form, but LeMahieu was a solid and versatile contributor from 2021-23, hitting .258/.345/.375 with quality glovework at first base, second base and third base.
Despite the poor showing in 2024, LeMahieu entered camp squarely in the mix for regular reps at third base. The Yankees’ budget is seemingly at its limit. They’ve passed on adding an infielder at either second base or third base (Jazz Chisholm Jr. can play either spot) and appear committed to going with in-house options. LeMahieu, former top prospect Oswald Peraza and utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera have been vying for playing time at the hot corner.
LeMahieu’s remaining two years and $30MM were always going to put him on the roster with some type of role, but his injury opens the door for a younger option at third base — be it Peraza, Cabrera or perhaps Jorbit Vivas. Vivas didn’t make his spring debut until this week. He’d been dealing with some shoulder soreness, but he’ll likely join the third base competition now. He’s already on the 40-man roster.
He’s becoming a nightmare
Becoming?
I wish the Cubs (Theo) had never traded DJL in the first place. That said, it’s time for DJL to hang them up.
I’m sure he will as soon as his contract is up. But it wouldn’t shock me if the Yankees DFA’d him at some point fairly soon.
DJ would have been the utility infielder on the Cubs playoff teams like La Stella was. No big loss.
Oh really? Zobrist and Russell contribute too much after that championship year, not to mention Bryant’s injury history.
I think you’re being short sighted, DJ would have plenty of opportunities.
Yep.
2015-2018 fWAR:
DJ 12.1
Baez 12.0
Russell 10.7
Over a four period, that’s not much of difference.
Zobrist was the upgrade over Castro.
Bryant was really out with injuries for part of one year with the Cubs. He played in all their playoff games.
…“The timetable is” He grabs his stuff, goes home & watches the season on YES with the rest of us. See ya at the old timers game DJ. Ahahahahaha!
NYY are among the few who can outspend a few bad contracts like he/Stanton if a player is either bad or injured too much. Most teams would be toast.
First Stanton…then DJ…typical day in the Bronx.~
Gil with shoulder injury and Schmidt (cranky back). Yankees are the cast of Final Destination XXVII (27)
They stole Jobu’s rum…
Jobu… Chamberlain?
Jabba the Hut ?
Really bro. Jobu from Major League. “Serrano can’t hit curveball”
I know Chris, just having a giggle.
“I say blank you Jobu, I do it myself!”
I figured that!! Lololol. Was actually referring to the Jabba the Hut dude.
Cheers!
Good luck, he’s some ignorant SOB… lol 🙂
Cold blooded, I see how it is.
Gil’s out for 3 months…goodness.
Put up numbers, sign big contract, get injured.
Way too many players seem to follow this pattern. It’s not very good for baseball.
Brian Cashman probably furious that he didn’t sign Rendon.
and yet, half the commenters on this site complain that owners don’t spend enough money, advise teams to sign older players for too much money, etc. I guess a guy has to “make a living”…
The only thing hanging onto a thread of parity in baseball is the low-revenue teams’ ability to hang onto young guys cheaply. It’s a kludge. Players are most valuable in their mid-20’s, but if you pay them for their value then, the Rays and Guardians and Brewers of the world cannot compete. They’d lose all their good players before they even win a thing.
What is the solution? Lock out the players during the next CBA until they agree to a base pay structure and bonuses based on WAR after the season? Eliminate guaranteed contracts?
I think teams need to do a better job of valuation and not bid salaries to levels way above those valuations. With all the predictive analytics going on, it’s rather stunning that teams don’t do a better job of this. What makes it hard is that there’s a limited supply of quality players available each year. It’s not an easy problem to solve.
@markie
How can we help these poor baseball owners from making bad financial decisions?
What if they just learned their lessons like everyone else? No one is trying to cap the price I pay on stocks and other investments because I lost money on a tech startup and it shouldn’t be that way. Yankees owners and I need to learn from mistakes and not out spend our budgets. It’s the the best way to make smarter decisions, otherwise you’re just reinforcing bad habits
I’ve moved on from DJ. Even if he does end up playing some he’ll stink anyway. ¡Vamos Oswald(o)s!
DJ LeMightPlay
Fire up the Arenado Rumor Machine!
*Cranking* mechanical noises and engine firing to life then turning over with a triumphant roar
giant plume of black smoke envelpes the sky man coughing smiles and says “she’s a diesel!” Claps the dust out of his hat and puts the horrible wracket into gear and sets sail
DJL has not played in a single playoff game under his second Yankees contract. One of the worst underrated deals of the 2020s
This is actually a blessing in disguise. We’re actually better off when he doesn’t play.
yeah makes me think its a phantom IL but also too 3 weeks out from the season start so i’m not sure
Please just cut him already and free up that 40 man spot. Hicks still owed 9M+ this year and two more years at 15M each for LeMahieu.
We could trade you a very lightly used Jose Iglesias…
Syke!
@Gwynning – OMG…No thanks. LOL
Gwinning I don’t think he stays injured enough to meet our high standards.
Bob Sykes!?
As a Yankee fan, this is good news. DJL is an automatic out and nothing will change this. Baboon and Crashman hope he can find his way, but I hope they see the writing on the wall.
The contact is dead!
Free the roster spot!
Predictable.. If the Yankees can restrain themselves from doing a transaction they will regret. it’s a possible opportunity to go with the players they have in-house and see if they can perform.
I’m gonna take a beaten for this but I truly think the Yanks need to still move Stroman contract and even Grisham contract. That saves 23m. I would definitely bring up Everson Pereira to be that 4th outfielder and play more left if Dominguez struggles defensively. I would give third base to Oswald Peraza who is out of options. If the roster is 12 position players that means Rice is the DH/ 3rd string catcher and Dom Smith doesn’t make the team. Will Warren is the 5th starter. I can see Oakland/ Sacramento taking Stroman to eat innings with maybe a prospect going to them and Yanks eat some money. I can see Miami, maybe San Fran, Atlanta? There will be teams interested in a back end starter who induces groundballs in a big NL park.
Relax with the Will Warren talk.. It’s ST, he had an 11 era last season, The guy needs more time in AAA.
Stroman costs WAY too much for Miami and most teams. San Fran has a full rotation, and so does Atlanta. He wouldn’t make either team, at least as a starter. They’ve been trying to trade him all off-season. There’s a reason why they haven’t been able to. If they paid half his deal they might have a chance.
Why do the Yanks need to save $’s? To give away prospect talent just to do so is even more ludicrous.
Another contract that did not age well.
This is how the decline stage of a natural mlb career works. Declining production and injuries are neither surprising nor newsworthy. If everything goes well you get 100 games and he is replacement level or a bit better. Limited upside and a floor that might range from boat anchor to DFA.
PED’s changed the script on aging baseball players. If you’re still at peak performance into your late 30’s you’re doing steroids – guys like Arod, Bonds, Ortiz come to mind and they are all known users. Never saw baseball players before PED’s maintain peak performance as they aged.
Cashman make the move! Get Arenado, enough of this mess at 3rd going on for at least 3rd season! Bring up the boppers in minors as needed, that are showing promise this Sp Training. DJ is done, platooning Cabrera & Pereira who bat less that .225 avg is nuts!
The Yankees need LH bats, not another aging RH.
I would hate to see Nolan go, but it makes good sense having two of the best corner men back together, I might even consider half heartedly following the Yanks if that happened.
Arenado would just be the next DJ. Be patient and a better option at 3B will come around
But will that better option be in the Yankees’ price range?
I mean jazz became available last year and didn’t count much at all towards the cap. You never which team will fall out of contention early, or have a young stud push the incumbent 3B out.
More importantly, Cashman updated on Gil’s status and the kid is out three months! Ugh, much bigger blow.
And Stanton just got his second PRP injection in his elbows.
Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
Typical Yankees paying big money for past achievements without paying attention to obvious decline in skills
While I disliked the signing in the first place, he was a free agent coming off of 2020, where he picked up 3WAR in just 50 games, finished 3rd in MVP voting, and 2019, where he got 5.6WAR, and was 4th in MVP voting.
Not for nothing, when DJL entered free agency after the 2020 season, everyone all but insisted the Yankees needed to bring him back. I can not recall any commentator on the MLB network or anywhere else saying the contract was a bad one art the time.
It’s not as if Crashman sign a guy with a missing leg.
You are correct. That was all the hype in Yankeeland and MLB. The Yankees can’t be a winning team without DJL! He’s the heartbeat of the team! That heartbeat flatlined as soon as the ink dried on the contract! Glad we missed that Soto contract as well. That’s going to age like a fart in an elevator.
There has always been injury in the game but over the years they have been increasing at an alarming rate, be it pitcher or position player. It is more understandable as Pitchers have been forcing their arms to move in unnatural ways with extreme force just to remain on the roster. Position players may just be practicing and exercising too much that it is wearing down their bodies. Back in the day the players said that more red meat, more beer, and rest is the recipe for longevity. Lol.
Lifting from the fridge > Lifting weights
MLBTR editors would be wise to save “DJ LeMahieu Diagnosed With…” for future use. Time-saver. Maybe a screen saver as well
I admit I was one of those folks who said “the 2 year $24M deal went historically well, lets give him 4 years/$100M to 6 years/$120M!!!” and I will also admit we should have let him walk after that first two year deal, that this deal has been a disaster and would’ve been a disaster had it been 4 or 5 years instead of 6 years.
Must be a slow ‘Moos’ (news) day
If the Yanks were to eat a decent portion of his remaining salary, I wonder if the Tigers wouldn’t mind bring him back home to the Detroit Area help out at 3B and 1B and finish his career where he grew up.
@Theoldgoalie – I would eat 20M of the 30M for a lower level Tigers prospect. I like #19 lefty Jake Miller or #26 RH Zach Swanson. It makes LeMahieu a 5M a year player.
Tigers are not looking to trade for aging, injury prone, non productive players. They sign those in FA. (Cobb)
Phantom IL stint to start the season
Hey Mr. DJ, put a record on
I wanna dance with my baby
And when the music starts, I never wanna stop
It’s gonna drive me crazy
ARod is not amused by your musical selection.
Breaking news: DJ Lemahieu will miss the 2025 season after suffering a stubbed toe at home Sunday night.
Shut down for a few weeks? That’s laughable. Rendon would have seen 5+ Dr’s, eventually gotten the torn calf muscle diagnosis he was looking for and sat out the entire season.
So it’s like the 5th or 6th year in a row that a Yankees roster, riddled with injury prone players, will get “devastated” by injuries.
But can we just stop with the horrible acting by Steinbrenner and Cashman at the press conferences pretending like this was unforeseen?
We all knew these exact players were most likely going to be on the IL sooner rather than later. So just stop. Stop it. This was easily predictable. Cashman and Hal decided to ignore it completely. Just stop stop stop stop with the excuses.
300m payroll and we have no starting 3B, no backup C, the bench is terrible….Stanton, DJ and Gil are already hurt and we’re relying on a 37 year old coming off several down years to hit cleanup this year.
I love my team, but this roster is constructed like crap. AS IS, this is a 3rd place team. Yeah, I said it. I’m not a blind homer, I’m a realist.
The Yankees are VERY lucky that 1/2 the league makes the playoffs and 1/3 of the league is actively rebuilding/tanking. Baseball is in a bad place with the lack of competitiveness.
I’m more optimistic that they haven’t made any panic moves like signing bregman or trading for arenado. Focusing on smart contracts. With the improved pitching and defense there’s no reason the yanks can’t be a first place team while figuring out 3B,LF and 5th starter. Then players become available for trade as teams drop out.
I didn’t care for the Fried contract at ALL. He has the talent, but he’s frequently hurt and has gotten shelled in the post season. Should have signed Burnes who is a horse in the Cole mode.
Burnes is a great pitcher too, I think once I heard interviews with fried after he signed and I heard his approach to pitching and overall mentality it made me feel much better about him. His approach to pitching is similar to Cole, who in my opinion is top 3 approach-wise, and he seemed excited and open-minded to learning more from Matt Blake and also Cole. Basically he’s the opposite of rodon who definitely comes off hard-headed. Mentioning his health, I think Cole can have a positive influence there also, the dude is so smart about his body and keeping himself on the field I have hope for fried
I agree and I felt the Fried move was a panic move after losing Soto. Seems like he’s destined for TJS soon and like you said he isn’t a great postseason pitcher which is what they actually need.
Surprise, surprise, surprise.
In my PS5 MLB “the show” video game DJL got hurt running to first. They had to carry him off.
I really want to be sympathetic, (it’s not like the old days when ball players had to have other jobs in the off season to supplement their salaries). These guys have year long training, why are so many players coming up lame?
As a 50+ year Yankee fan I’m ruling him out of the Yankee lineup permanently.
Well a fan can dream…
LeMahieu’s situation isn’t just about one player—it’s a case study in how the Yankees (and other big-market teams) have quietly built an inefficient roster by prioritizing tax gymnastics over actual baseball decisions.
Never seen a NYY team with so many walking wounded. Goes back years now. Unbelievable
He and Stanton need to retire already both are non factors based on their contracts compared to their lack of production.
Why would they retire if they can keep collecting on their contracts?
The once mighty and affluent Yankees reaching their spending limit so, no matter how unproductive (and unable to remain healthy) LeMahieu is, he remains on the roster.
Much as his pal across the river John Mara is over his head running a pro sports team, it’s also time for Hal Steinbrenner to consider selling the Yankees.
His stewardship has been shameful.
Nice, now we can carry a more useful bench player to start the season. Losing Gil sucks but our other 4 SP are rock solid. Throw Warren out there and see if he sticks as the 5. Let’s see what we have with peraza and Cabrera, if it’s nothing we make a trade at the deadline. Let’s get Rice some at bats between DH and catcher. Rotate wells and judge thru DH to keep them fresher til we know more about stanton’s timeline. We’ll be fine.
Dj has enough dough he can afford to hang it up
Part of the problem is not putting guys where they best fit. There’s no reason to put Dominguez in LF when he’s been a CF. No need to make him play everyday and hit leadoff and learn a new defensive position.
1) Bellinger should be in LF and play Dominguez in CF.
2) There’s no need to waste AB on LeMahieu. He can’t stay healthy or produce any more. Let’s see what Cabrera and Peraza can do.
3) Work in some younger guys with options in the bullpen (Rezylman, Schlitter, Messinger). Way too many guys have no options leaving the team with little flexibility for short term injuries or for calling up a fresh arm.
JDom can move back to CF later depending on what happens with Belli. I think it’s better not to have a rookie CF flanked by two vets so I’m not against him in LF.
The injuries not withstanding, he’s been a good soldier. And a 2 time Batting champion. Since he seems to need a fresh start, why not flip him back to the Rockies? He can end his career back where he won his first BT. Don’t care if we get back a ham sandwich and perhaps they take on some of his $13M.
Rockies non-tendered Brendan Rodgers for a projected $5.5M in arb. Is DJL more valuable than him? Unlikely, the Rockies will take him for less than $25M remaining on his contract.
Bull
Let Peraza play 3B!!
Here’s my genuine question: With prospects like Lombard, Jr. Spencer Jones, Peraza, etc. as prospects we’ve all heard of now for literal years, it seems like the Yankees not only have internal options, but that there are these highly touted prospects who are producing, proving themselves to likely be The Real Deal/The Real Thing/Legitimate MLB level players, etc. so why not give them their spots early?
In a game where being like age 24 is still so young with years of development and potential left in a player and being like age 27 is getting old and ready to be put out to pasture, the window to be a legitimate, productive MLB player *and* go through arbitration in time to reach free agency young enough to get a decent contract, the Yankees have very little luck with their highly touted prospects and I’d like to see one or two of these infamous ‘future yankee mainstays’ to actually be brought up and kept up and given a chance to establish themselves.
I’d also like to point out, as I always do-
The Steinbrenners/Cashman took this bizarre approach a few years ago where they took guys who were looking at 4-5 year free agency deals and saying to those players “hey, we’ve got a budget crunch against the competitive balance tax and we imagine you’ll want to play for an extra year or two beyond whenever your projected market value free agency contract expires, so what if we took those 4-5 yeas in total salaries and stretch it out for an extra couple seasons- you get your money, you get to keep playing, you’re cheaper so you get to stay a Yankee longer, etc.” but instead they got stuck with having to release Aaron Hicks like 3 or 4 years early and now the reality is that DJLM’s entire extension/free agency contract for 6 years/$90M is likely a complete bust and he might very well be released or virtually released via the IL with 2 years/$30M remaining.
Not sure what the formula is for identifying guys who will sustain production vs guys who won’t other than going by age/statistical likelihood, but they have not done this again after DJLM’s deal and this entire second DJLM Yankees contract has been such an embarrassment / disappointment, etc.
This is the result of Cashman expecting old players past their prime to step up and be everyday contributors. DJ and Stanton both need to go!