After a few bumps in the road, DJ LeMahieu is ready for action.
As expected, the Yankees activated the infielder prior to their series opener against the Angels in Anaheim on Tuesday. Infielder Kevin Smith, a New York native, elected free agency instead of accepting an outright assignment, which cleared space for LeMahieu on the Yankees’ major league roster.
LeMahieu has not played in a major league game this season after fouling a ball off of his right foot in a spring training contest on March 16. The impact resulted in a nondisplaced fracture.
LeMahieu had his original rehab assignment delayed, and it ultimately ended after just one inning on April 23. He started a new assignment on May 17 and hit .267 over six games. The 35-year-old played two apiece at Double-A, High-A and Triple-A.
Prior to getting in hurt, LeMahieu earned rave reviews from Aaron Boone in spring training. The manager came into camp extremely impressed with the veteran’s offseason work, which included reporting to Tampa early.
“It’s a credit to him,” Boone said at the time. “He’s worked his tail off this winter, being here, being part of the running program. He’s running well. He’s just more explosive, to me, in the batting cage. To me it’s very noticeable. I felt like he started to address some things in the second half of last season and put together a stronger second half. But to me, he’s even in a way better physical position than he was then and at any time probably in the last couple years.”
Boone initially envisioned LeMahieu as his everyday third baseman and leadoff man, but Anthony Volpe has taken over the latter job and is expected to stay put. The shortstop had a 19-game hitting streak entering Tuesday’s game.
It remains to be seen where exactly LeMahieu will settle into the lineup, but Boone had him hitting ninth on Tuesday.
The Yankees are hoping LeMahieu’s production matches what he did in the second half last season. While he hit just .252/.342/.384 over the last two campaigns, the two-time batting champ slashed .273/.377/.432 after the All-Star Game in 2023.
LeMahieu is still expected to man the hot corner on a regular basis. Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti, who recently suffered a high-grade calf strain, handled third while LeMahieu was out.
LeMahieu could also give Anthony Rizzo some rest at first base. The Yankees had not had an experienced backup first baseman on their roster until now, and Rizzo has been a roughly league-average hitter in terms of wRC+.
