For all the wheeling and dealing the New York Yankees did after losing Juan Soto to the New York Mets, one very obvious roster hole remained: third base, where Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s move to second had left a void. Rather than fill that void via free agency or trade, Brian Cashman chose to stand pat, doing his best to talk up internal options like DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera.
That seemed dubious at the time, and it seems even more so now that LeMahieu has suffered a calf injury during an at-bar in Saturday’s spring training game. Asked about it after the game, Aaron Boone didn't seem too optimistic.
DJ LeMahieu tweaked a calf muscle during his second at-bat today, Aaron Boone said. “We’ll see what we have … it’s at least a little concerning.”
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) March 1, 2025
Of course, none of this should be surprising by now. The 36-year-old just slogged through an injury-plagued 2024 season, playing in just 67 games while hitting .204 with a lackluster .527 OPS. Since 2021, LeMahieu hasn’t been great: Over the past four seasons, he’s posted a .252 batting average with a .698 OPS and recorded 39 home runs. The three-time All-Star’s best days are behind him, and Cashman's failure to realize that has reared its head.
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Cashman still has time to find a suitable third baseman
Luckily, the regular season is still a few weeks away. If Cashman wants to give Boone the best chance to take the Yankees back to the World Series, he must find a respectable third baseman. Their lineup took a step back from 2024 with the loss of Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres. Besides Aaron Judge, no one on the Yankees roster has hit over 30 home runs in the past two seasons.
Expecting Paul Goldschmidt to return to his 2022 MVP version is outlandish. His numbers have significantly declined over the past two seasons. Cody Bellinger isn’t the player he once was. Could Chisholm Jr. break out? Of course, he can. However, he’s only played over 140 games once throughout his five-year career.
New York has one of the best rotations in baseball on paper. Gerrit Cole and Max Fried are aces. Carlos Rodón has struggled in spring training, but we should take that with a grain of salt. Clarke Schmidt is a great back-end piece. But they’ll need their starting rotation to be healthy and reliable with the lineup they have, and expecting that is foolish: Luis Gil already sustained a shoulder injury in camp.
Boone could desperately use a reliable third baseman in the order. With the St. Louis Cardinals and Nolan Arenado trying to part ways, it would make sense for the Yankees to be the team to trade for him. Last season, eight-time All-Star hit .272 across 152 games. He’s nowhere near the player he was a few seasons ago, but he’d be a better option than Cabrera or LeMahieu.
LeMahieu’s injury comes as a blow to Boone, but he never should be the everyday third baseman, even when healthy. The 37-year-old would be much better suited in a role off the bench.