DJ LeMahieu is about to come to depressing realization after Yankees breakup

The writing seemed to be on the wall for DJ LeMahieu on Tuesday, when New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced that the team would be benching him in order to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second base. On Wednesday, the other shoe finally dropped: The team has officially designated LeMahieu for assignment, meaning he's been removed from New York's 40-man roster and placed on waivers.

If a team claims him off of waivers — which seems pretty unlikely at this point — he'll be added to their active roster. If he clears waivers outright, he'll have the option of accepting a demotion to Triple-A or opting for free agency. Given how upset he was at the news of his benching, the latter is almost a guarantee.

This situation had been coming to a head for a while now. The Yankees, much to fans' chagrin, neglected to sign an infielder over the offseason, instead choosing to give LeMahieu one more chance to come back and prove he could be healthy and effective. But it became clear pretty quickly that was a mistake: LeMahieu missed the start of the season after suffering a calf injury in spring, and even when he was on the field, he was below average both offensively and defensively.

Eventually, that became a burden the Yankees weren't willing to bear, no matter how much money they have to eat to get rid of him. With the losses piling up and Chisholm struggling out of position at the hot corner, running him out there every day was no longer tenable, and a righty-hitting 36-year-old who can't hit for power and who's only physically capable of playing second or first base at this point isn't really workable as a bench piece.

So the Yankees were forced to move on, and they'll pay for the privilege. But while LeMahieu apparently isn't too happy on his way out the door, he should soon realize that he only has himself to blame for the situation his career is in right now.

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DJ LeMahieu contract will haunt the Yankees for years to come

It's a sign of just how dire the situation has gotten that the Yankees were willing to do this despite what it will cost to an organization that's already sweating its payroll flexibility right now. LeMahieu was in the fourth year of the five-year, $90 million deal that kicked in for the 2021 season, and he'll still be due the remaining $22 million on that contract.

Of course, the Yankees should be the last team to ever cry poor, but it's worth noting that staying under the final luxury tax threshold was a major sticking point for Hal Steinbrenner this offseason. Having LeMahieu on the books for another year isn't nothing, even if New York is set up to have some money to play with as Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Marcus Stroman and others come off the books. Another $15 million sure would be nice.

DJ LeMahieu might have nowhere left to go to continue MLB career

LeMahieu seems not to be taking this development very well, and you can understand why. He's accomplished a lot in 15 years in the Majors, from three All-Star appearances to four Gold Gloves to a couple of batting titles. He was spectacular atop the lineup for New York in both 2019 and 2020, and he's authored some magical moments in pinstripes. You don't get this far as a baseball player without having a good deal of pride in your work, and being unceremoniously dumped like this has to sting at least a little bit.

That said ... it's also worth asking what else he wanted the Yankees to do here. It's not like he left New York with much choice: He doesn't the bring defensive versatility teams need off the bench, and his .336 slugging percentage isn't going to convince contending teams to carry him on their roster solely for his bat. He'll almost certainly latch on with a Minor League deal somewhere, or even get some playing time on a rebuilding team playing out the string for the rest of the season. (Maybe a Rockies reunion is in order?) But it's hard to see how he'll provide value to an organization trying to win down the stretch.