New York Yankees hope DJ LeMahieu’s problems don’t become the new normal

In January 2019, the Yankees signed DJ LeMahieu to a two-year, $24 million contract in an offseason when many fans were hoping for Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. Ultimately, they made the right decision, as his production in those seasons was above market value.

The stellar performance also made him a priority for the Yankees to re-sign for the 2021 season. LeMahieu eventually returned on a six-year, $90 million contract, but the contract length was extended due to the luxury tax.

LeMahieu, a career .298 hitter at the time of his initial signing, was among the Yankees’ most valuable in 2019 as they consistently used the injured list when he played every infield position except shortstop, leading them with 145 games played and finishing second to recently designated infielder Tim Anderson in the AL batting race. He also kept the season alive for a half-inning by hitting a game-tying home run in Game 6 of the ALCS and was valuable when Greg Bird was limited to 10 games and Miguel Andujar was lost for the season at third base in the opening weeks.

A year later, in a 60-game season, LeMahieu flirted with a .400 batting average in the first month of the shortened campaign before finishing with a .364 average, becoming the first player in the modern era to win a batting title in both leagues. He capped a stretch in which he faced 3,292 pitches, hit .342 against fastballs and produced similar averages against other pitches.

LeMahieu’s first two seasons with the Yankees were 31 and 32 years old, and it made sense that retaining players was a high priority, even though long contracts for players his age can be risky.

The Yankees also often cite his first two seasons when they say they think the now 36-year-old player will be around for a long time. But with each passing day, it’s hard not to see it, especially since the Yankees have lost 19 of 28 games since June 14.

LeMahieu had been back for two weeks from a foot injury that became the latest ailment to derail his second contract with the Yankees. A hernia prevented him from playing in the 2021 wild-card injury, and foot problems sidelined him for the nine postseason games in 2022 that ended with a modest four-game sweep by the Astros in the ALCS.

LeMahieu is a .252 hitter since being retained by the Yankees and a .177 hitter without a hit in 17 plate appearances. The last handful of those plate appearances have resulted in boos from the crowd, even as they watched Juan Soto’s four-hit game on Friday, which also followed Luis Severino’s playful comments about the Yankees having only two hitters in Soto and Aaron Judge while discussing his disappointment in not pitching in the Subway Series again.

“We’ve got to figure it out and keep using him,” manager Aaron Boone said Saturday morning. “He’s earned it and where we’re at right now roster-wise, we’ve got to give him that opportunity to establish himself. And if we can do that, then we know we’ve got a really good hitter on our hands. He’s going to continue to get opportunities here.”

It’s hard to fault Boone for sticking with LeMahieu, given what the other options are now and even what some of the outside options could be. In particular, the possibility of Alex Bregman ever coming to the Yankees seems to be out of the question as the Astros quickly climb atop the AL West.

“He’s had a couple games where he’s been unlucky, but he’s still putting the ball on the ground,” Boone said. “He’s fighting, especially for a guy, a hitter, of his caliber, I think he just works hard to get to that spot.”

Meanwhile, the Yankees are hoping the oft-discussed bad luck will translate into winning games in the form of consistent hitting, rather than a player who is declining due to age and recent injuries. They may be working behind the scenes on a better option if LeMahieu’s slump doesn’t improve soon.

“You never know what the next 10 days are going to be like,” Boone said. “There’s a world of things that can happen. You never know where we’re going to end up. I don’t even want to speculate on that right now.”