TAMPA — DJ LeMahieu did something out of character this past offseason: he stopped swinging.
The infielder, competing to be the Yankees’ third baseman, said that he took two months off from hitting over the winter. The 36-year-old called the break the longest he can ever remember taking, but he and his body needed a “reset” following the worst season of his career.
It wasn’t until mid-January that LeMahieu returned to the tool that won him batting titles in 2016 and 2020. While position players officially reported on Sunday, he’s been in Tampa for a month. Now he’s eager to prove his doubters wrong.
“Plenty of times in my career, people haven’t always been the most confident in me,” LeMahieu said Tuesday. “I would obviously use that as motivation. But at the same time, I got enough to worry about.”
LeMahieu is not alone in the fight for third base, as Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza are also in the mix for the biggest hole on the Yankees’ roster. But LeMahieu is the most notable candidate, as he is owed $30 million over the next two years, has shown serious signs of decline, and suffered two significant foot injuries over the last three seasons.
LeMahieu has a 99 wRC+ since winning his last batting title, making him a tick below league average.
“I’m not going to put anything past a healthy DJ LeMahieu and his ability to hit,” Aaron Boone said last week. “There’s always going to be the naysayers out there, but really, this is in and around a guy that is a great hitter who’s had some tough, nagging, bad injuries that have cut into that greatness. So there’s no telling what he may be able to do if he’s healthy.”
A shell of his former self last year, LeMahieu played in just 67 games after breaking his foot on a foul ball in spring training. He went on to slash .204/.269/.259 with seven extra-base hits, two home runs, 26 RBI and a 52 wRC+. A hip injury then ended his season in September.
“I’m not used to it,” LeMahieu said when asked if he’s been hard on himself. “I definitely lost a lot of sleep. It’s tough to be a guy that the team can’t rely on at times. I always take pride in that, so to not be able to do that, it’s definitely frustrating. But at the same time, I haven’t lost my passion for helping this team and my passion for this team. So that keeps me going.”
Here’s DJ LeMahieu and Paul Goldschmidt in the cage. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/MgS4fON15s
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) February 17, 2025
LeMahieu said that he is in fact healthy now. He added that he’s on a program with the Yankees’ training staff in an effort to stay that way for the next eight months.
The veteran described himself as “anti-training room” in the past, but LeMahieu is trying to take advantage of the numerous amenities and resources available at the Yankees’ renovated Tampa complex.
“For a majority of my career I would pretty much play unless my leg was cut off,” he said. “That was my mindset. I didn’t go in the training room. I just strapped it on every day and played. The last few years, just bumps, bruises, this, that, had the foot fracture. Stuff that I could kind of play through in the past, it just escalates and it compounds. That’s been the frustrating part.”
LeMahieu also said that data — the Yankees’ have tech that provides real-time feedback — is telling him he can be his old self “for the most part.”
“The metrics are fairly similar,” the four-time Gold Glover said, “especially on defense.”
So far, LeMahieu is encouraged by the work he’s done, but spring training is still in its infancy. He’ll have to earn playing time for the first time in a while, and it’s always possible that the championship-aspiring Yankees add another infielder before Opening Day.
With all that in mind, LeMahieu has yet to discuss the third base battle with Boone. He isn’t making any assumptions about who the favorite for the job is, either.
“I’m not really too concerned with where I’m playing or how much I’m playing at this point,” LeMahieu said. “Like I said, I got enough on my plate to make sure I’m ready to help this team. So however it shakes out, it is what it is.”
