The Yankees may have avoided a serious injury when veteran third baseman DJ LeMahieu's foot injury turned out to be a bone bruise rather than a break. However, the bone bruise is severe enough to keep LeMahieu out of the start of the season. Concerned about their lack of infield depth, the Yankees made a three-team trade less than 30 hours before Opening Day. Houston.
The Yankees acquired Marlins veteran utility player Jon Berti in the trade, who is expected to play a lot at the beginning of the season in place of LeMahieu at third base. Berti can play all over the infield and has outfield experience. In his six seasons, Berti has started 85 games at second base, 119 games at third base, and 86 games at shortstop. He has also started 63 games in the outfield.
To complete the trade, the Yankees had to send 18-year-old outfield prospect John Cruz to the Marlins and send 26-year-old backup catcher Ben Rortvedt to Tampa Bay. The Rays also sent another prospect, outfielder Shane Sasaki, to the Marlins.
Yankees Acquire Important Depth Player Following DJ LeMahieu's Injury
The addition of Berti provided some relief to manager Aaron Boone, who was worried about the lack of bench depth that could be exposed due to LeMahieu's injury. LeMahieu is a three-time All-Star who signed a $90 million, six-year contract with the club in 2021.
“I'm really excited about this. I feel like we're getting a really good player,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed on Wednesday, according to The Athletic. “With DJ being down, he very much figures in to the third base mix.
“Hopefully, when we’re whole, he serves as a guy who can play all over the infield, even play some outfield. Quality hitter, bat-to-ball, can steal a base — I think he’s going to be a really good addition for us, whether he’s playing in an everyday role or in that utility role.”
Throughout his career, Berti has been a .258 hitter with a .337 on-base percentage. He achieved a career-best batting average of .294 last year and two years ago, led the National League in stolen bases with 41. He has 92 steals in six years and has been caught only 20 times.
Relief for Aaron Boone
Before acquiring Berti, Boone had considered having Oswaldo Cabrera as the starting third baseman in LeMahieu's absence. However, Cabrera is also the team’s main backup shortstop and first baseman, so using him daily at third would have depleted the Yankees' bench.
This was a major concern for a team with a strong starting lineup. However, adding a versatile utility player like Berti should benefit the Yankees in the short and long term.
“Until a few hours ago, I was concerned about our infield depth and our bench, how we were going to manage that,” Boone remarked. “I feel like that improved a lot today.”
As for LeMahieu, he will begin the season on the injured list. According to the Daily News, Boone had no update on his health on Wednesday, but was asked whether he expected LeMahieu’s absence to be short.
“I hope so, but I don’t know. Because I wouldn’t say he got shut down,” Boone said. “I know he went out for some ground balls that one day [and] it wasn’t great. Pain is still in there, so we want it to kind of be things that you’re able to tolerate. So whether that turns into hitting and fielding in a couple of days, I don’t know. But I know when he went out the other day and tried that, it wasn’t good enough.”
