While the New York Yankees lead the AL East with a 17-12 record, they seemingly lead the world in injuries. Gerrit Cole is set to miss the entire season, Luis Gil is out for several months, it's anyone's best guess as to when Giancarlo Stanton will be back — and now, the same will be said about DJ LeMahieu, who, according to manager Aaron Boone, suffered a setback while on a rehab assignment from the strained calf he suffered in spring training.
DJ LeMahieu had a cortisone injection in his right hip today. Aaron Boone said it was “preemptive,” as LeMahieu “felt something coming on.” Boone said they hope LeMahieu can return to minor league game action on Thursday or Friday.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) April 29, 2025
While Boone said that LeMahieu merely "felt something coming on," and that he hopes the veteran infielder can return to Minor League action on Thursday or Friday, it's tough to believe anything the Yankees and Boone specifically have to say about his health at this point.
For Yankees fans, this is just the latest frustrating injury chapter with LeMahieu, and proves yet again that Brian Cashman is far from perfect as the organization's general manager.
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Yankees relying on DJ LeMahieu was never going to work out
Giving LeMahieu a six-year, $90 million deal ahead of the 2021 season made a lot of sense at the time, even if the length of the contract felt a little steep. LeMahieu received MVP votes in each of his first two seasons with the Yankees and was even a finalist for the award in the shortened 2020 season. Since signing the deal, though, he has underwhelmed, to say the least, for a couple of reasons.
First, the injury bug has bitten him hard. LeMahieu did play 150 games in 2021, but he's missed time in each of the last three seasons due to injury, and was limited to just 67 games in 2024. Second, and most importantly, he has not been productive. LeMahieu has a .698 OPS in his four years since signing the deal, and had a .527 OPS while being worth a whopping -1.6 bWAR last season.
Despite the injuries and the lack of production, Brian Cashman inexplicably planned for LeMahieu to be a key piece for the Yankees ahead of the 2025 campaign as their starting third baseman. Had he not gotten hurt in spring training, he likely would've been at the hot corner on Opening Day, somehow.
It's safe to say Cashman's decisions to give LeMahieu the lengthy deal he did and to have LeMahieu as a key piece for the 2025 Yankees worked out exactly as most fans would've expected. He has shown an inability to stay healthy or productive for years now, and at 36 years of age, it was hard to envision it being better this season.
Hopefully, Oswaldo Cabrera continues to be productive or the Yankees acquire an external option to play third base before relying on LeMahieu to be anything more than a bench piece.