After an active offseason, the New York Yankees are widely predicted to make it to the playoffs in 2024 after a disappointing performance last year.
But one thing that could prevent their success is injury. Star pitcher Gerrit Cole is expected to not be available in the first few weeks and now it seems likely that leadoff hitter DJ LeMahieu could also be unavailable.
“DJ LeMahieu has a 'a pretty significant bone bruise' on his right foot, according to Aaron Boone, who is unsure if LeMahieu will have enough time to be ready for Opening Day,” Bryan Hoch reported for MLB.com.
Injury to DJ LeMahieu Puts the New York Yankees in a Difficult Position
LeMahieu hit a ball off his right foot during a Spring Training game and was in immediate pain. If he doesn’t recover quickly, it will be hard for the Yankees to fill his spot in the lineup and on defense.
“This puts the Yankees in a tough situation at third base,” Dayn Perry reported for CBS Sports. “Under normal circumstances, they would likely turn to Oswald Peraza to replace LeMahieu, but he's currently out with a shoulder strain, probably until at least May. The Yankees could temporarily put Oswaldo Cabrera in the hot corner, but they might consider looking outside the organization for an inexpensive temporary solution.”
LeMahieu agreed to a six-year, $90 million deal with the Yankees in 2021 after earning All-Star nominations in 2015, 2017, and 2019, All-MLB first team honors in 2019 and 2020, Gold Glove awards in 2014, 2017 and 2018, and Silver Slugger awards in 2019 and 2020.
Since then, however, his performance has declined at the plate . In 2023, he batted .243/.327/.390 in 497 at bats, a far drop from his .364/.421/.590 stats that made him the 2020 MLB batting champion.The Yankees were hoping for a rebound from LeMahieu in the leadoff spot before superstar hitters Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. Boone had selected him for that role, but also mentioned that outfielder Alex Verdugo might be a good fit.
“If we can address that leadoff spot — look, I want it to be DJ and hopefully it is, but certainly Alex Verdugo up there is a possibility — if that leadoff spot gets settled, then we have a chance to have a really exceptional offense,” Boone expressed,
according to the New York Post . “Because I do feel like the middle of the lineup then around Aaron and Juan has a chance to be deep and exceptional.”The New York Yankees Deal with Significant Injury Worries Before the 2024 Season Begins
In addition to the injuries affecting LeMahieu and Cole, there's reason to believe Judge may not be ready for Opening Day as he copes with abdominal problems.
“He has admitted that this issue probably stemmed from a combination of too many BP swings and compensating for last season’s toe injury, which caused him to be out for seven weeks on the IL,”
reported David Lennon for Newsday . “Hearing the toe issue resurface 10 months later cannot be comforting for the Yankees, and a core problem, for someone as powerful as Judge, is something that will have Boone anxious with each swing.”The New York Yankees might be without DJ LeMahieu at the beginning of the season, raising questions about potentially trading for or signing someone to replace him.
