SEATTLE — DJ LeMahieu’s latest, and perhaps last, chance to resurrect his Yankees career is about to arrive.
The veteran Yankees infielder is expected to be activated off the injured list Tuesday and make his first start at second base Wednesday against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park after missing the first month and a half of the season with a calf strain he suffered in his second at-bat of spring training.
There certainly is a role for LeMahieu to grab, with second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. currently on the injured list for at least a few more weeks while the Yankees could also use a right-handed hitting complement to Oswaldo Cabrera at third base.
They now will get to find out just how much the 36-year-old LeMahieu has in the tank after various lower-body injuries have sapped his production over the past few seasons.
He is not expected to be an everyday player at this stage of his career, but Aaron Boone hopes he can at least be “a piece of the puzzle.”
“The biggest thing is health,” Boone said Monday before opening the series against the Mariners. “DJ LeMahieu, [he could] fall out of bed and hit. The biggest thing that’s tripped him up over the years is just the nagging different injuries that have popped up that have slowed him.
“Obviously, he’s older now, but I always feel like guys that can really hit like him, if you’re healthy, you can usually really hit late in your career. Hopefully, he can come and be a real contributor for us. What that role is — does it turn into something more everyday, does it turn into part-time, does it turn into platoon — I don’t know. But as long as he’s healthy, I won’t be surprised with anything he brings to the table.”
The two-time batting champion, who was expected to land in Seattle on Monday night, is in the penultimate year of a six-year, $90 million contract.
The Yankees have exercised patience with him, not yet willing to eat the rest of the money on his deal to free up a roster spot, but the clock will be ticking.
LeMahieu used the full allotment of 20 days for his rehab assignment to get a proper buildup — capped off by playing back-to-back nine-inning games at Triple-A over the weekend — after a mostly lost spring training.
There was one hiccup along the way when LeMahieu got a “preemptive” cortisone shot in the right hip that was beginning to act up, but it only cost him a few days.
Across nine rehab games between Double-A and Triple-A, LeMahieu hit 12-for-27 (.444) with a 1.093 OPS while spending most of his time at second base (and one game at third).
Boone said between the rehab assignment and live batting practice sessions in Tampa, LeMahieu has logged over 50 at-bats to give him the equivalent of spring training.
“I feel like he’s just wanted to really make sure he gets this right,” Boone said. “I think that’s what started with the injection in the hip — knowing he feels like he’s got to nail this. I think he’s been really diligent and focused on that, even all the way to the rainouts and getting to play in a back-to-back. I think he understands how important this last month has been in making sure he gets it right.”
The Yankees will have to open a roster spot for LeMahieu, which could be accomplished by designating Pablo Reyes for assignment or optioning Jorbit Vivas to Triple-A.
LeMahieu arrived at camp this spring determined to prove he still had something left to offer. After battling a broken toe that led to ligament damage in another toe late in 2022, a non-displaced foot fracture in 2024 and right hip impingement last September, he took two months off from hitting over the offseason in an attempt to give his body a chance to recover.
When LeMahieu has been active in recent years, the injuries mostly have made him a shell of his former self at the plate, aside from a solid second half in 2023. Even still, from Aug. 9, 2022 (about the time he began dealing with the toe issue) through the end of last season, he hit just .222 with a .627 OPS in 228 games.
That OPS was the third lowest of 226 big leaguers who got at least 800 plate appearances during that span.
“I feel like he’s ready to go,” Boone said, “and hopefully ready to contribute.”
