DJ LeMahieu’s season is likely over.
Has he played his last game in pinstripes?
The Yankees on Monday placed the struggling 36-year-old veteran infielder on the 10-day injured list — retroactive to Sept. 6 — with a right hip impingement.
LeMahieu last played in a Sept. 3 loss to the Rangers and went 1-for-3 at the plate.
“It’s been something that’s been kind of lingering the last couple of weeks,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the series opener against the Royals on Monday in The Bronx. “He’s been getting treatment on it. It’s better some days, worse the others. Just something that’s been kind of lingering for a few weeks now.”
Yankees third baseman DJ LeMahieu doubles to left field against the Los Angeles Angels in the fourth inning of game two of the double header at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, USA, Wednesday, August 07, 2024.
Boone did not yet know if LeMahieu would be able to return at any point this year, instead opting to wait for the results of the MRI he received on Monday.
But, with just 18 games left in the regular season after Monday’s clash, and given LeMahieu’s injury history and current woes, it appears unlikely he’ll be back in the lineup anytime this year.
Boone also couldn’t pinpoint when the injury originated.
“I don’t know if it was [anything] initial,” Boone said. “I don’t know if it’s just part of, he’s obviously had core surgery in the past, obviously the different things that have happened to him — fouling the ball off his shin and the stuff that’s going on with his feet. It could just be the result of the wear and tear and the rigors of the season.”
DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees scores on an RBI single by Juan Soto #22 of the New York Yankees during the second inning when the New York Yankees played the Colorado Rockies Sunday, August 25, 2024 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY.
DJ LeMahieu hits a double in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Angels during Game 2 of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Bronx, NY.
LeMahieu, in his sixth season with the Yankees, has been one of the most criticized players on the roster throughout the year.
A silver slugger in 2019 and 2020 (his first two seasons with the Yankees) as well as the batting champion in 2020, LeMahieu has regressed in recent years before falling off a cliff this season.
He owns a brutal .204/.269/.259 slash line with a .527 OPS.
His -1.7 bWAR was tied for second-worst among all hitters in MLB entering Monday.
And Jon Berti, whom the Yankees activated off the injured list on Monday, was likely set to take much of LeMahieu’s remaining playing time at third base, anyway, while Anthony Rizzo has already cut into his playing time at first base since returning last week.
After this season, LeMahieu still has two more years and $30 million owed to him on his current contract. Based off this season, it’s certainly a possibility the Yankees could view him as a sunk cost this offseason and release him.
LeMahieu has just given them another reason to do so.
