The New York Yankees were pretty certain they would be without DJ LeMahieu on Opening Day, as Aaron Boone referred to it as a longshot yesterday ahead of their first game in Mexico City. Now, Brian Cashman confirms that the Yankees will place their projected lead-off hitter on the injured list with a bone bruise he suffered after fouling a ball off of his foot in Spring Training. LeMahieu, who is coming off of a so-so 2023 season where he got off to a slow start and heated up down the stretch, is in the fourth season of a six-year deal he signed before the 2021 season.
It’ll be the third season with an IL stint for the two-time batting champion, and this is an ominous start to his season as the Yankees are even more depleted at the third base position.
DJ LeMahieu is Headed to the IL, Yankees in Need of Infield Help
One of the least deep positions on the Yankees happened to be at third base, and losing both your starter and primary reserve option certainly hurts. DJ LeMahieu could just miss 10 days and find himself right back at the top of the Yankees’ lineup in early April, but details on his recovery are still undecided. He’s recently taken batting practice and done defensive work, and this could be more of a precaution to make sure that he’s fully healed before he steps back into the batter’s box.
Something that the Yankees would like to avoid is a situation where LeMahieu is compensating for foot pain and adjusting his mechanics in a way that hurts his overall production, as he did back in 2022. This time it’s the right foot, which is a sigh of relief as any injury to the left foot would be scary for the Yankees, as he opted to not get surgery on the big toe and instead used rest and recovery. Now, the question of who their third baseman will be on Opening Day remains unclear, but there are some hints as to who their first option will be.
Oswaldo Cabrera has begun to heat up in Spring Training and could be their choice at third base as they wait for DJ LeMahieu to return from the IL. The question now pertains to who their reserve infielder will be, as Kevin Smith is their projected utility infielder and he hasn’t necessarily been amazing in Spring Training. The Yankees will need to look externally at the waiver wire or opt-out market for veterans they can scoop up, as teams begin finalizing their rosters and making final cuts ahead of Opening Day.
Ben Rortvedt, who will likely be waived or traded, could be flipped for a bench piece in their infield, but that depends on what teams need catching depth. Any free agents who haven’t participated in Spring Training are probably out of the picture for the Yankees, as they aren’t built up to handle the workload of a regular season game yet. This means guys like Donovan Solano won’t be heading to the Bronx to alleviate their infield issues, and that limits their pool of options significantly.
Perhaps they swing a deal for someone currently on a 40-man roster, but for now, the Yankees have a problem at third base that they need to solve.