NEW YORK — The Yankees have no plans to rush infielder DJ LeMahieu, who is struggling with a right big-toe injury. The team brass feels that the three-time All-Star should get more rest to recover as long as the present lineup keeps winning games.
The injury has kept LeMahieu out of action since September 5. He is resting to heal his toe at least through the weekend. After that, the Yankees will consider to let him play in Toronto next week.
The big problem is that LeMahieu’s toe hurts a lot when he swings the bat, and it probably won’t get better until he rests it for months during the offseason, not just a few weeks in September.
LeMahieu told reporters about the progress of his right second toe on Friday:
“If I can’t get my swing going, it’s kind of useless.”
Before he moved to the injured list, LeMahieu failed to have a perfect season. In his last 10 games, he went 2-for-38 at the plate. His season average dropped from .281 to .262 because of this slump.
LeMahieu has been resting for almost three weeks and has seen some improvement, but not enough to swing without pain. He said:
“It’s hard to put into words, but it hurts.”
LeMahieu is running out of time to take care of his toe. After the Friday win against the Red Sox, the Yankees only had 12 games left in the regular season.
The Yankees may eventually allow LeMahieu to play through his injury if the need arises. They think that bringing him to active duty now will aggravate his toe, which may end his season and also his chances to play in postseason games. Another issue is his lack of confidence in his ability to contribute.
LeMahieu told:
“It’s a little bit better. There’s a week and a half or two weeks left in the season. I don’t want to shut it down and have to ramp up again, so I’m staying as ready as I can without being stupid. I don’t think at this point it’s really going to go away, so I think it’s just stay ready and just let them know how I feel and I’ll be ready to go whenever the day is.”
Since LeMahieu thinks it’s crucial that he gets at-bats to find his timing back before the playoffs, a test run is likely to be there next week.
But the Yankees have not fixed any date yet.
The Yankees are very worried about the situation. LeMahieu is their regular leadoff hitter and bats ahead of Judge most of the time. He has had a productive season with 12 home runs, 46 RBI, and a .740 OPS in 120 games played for the Yankees.
According to Yankees manager Aaron Boone”
“It’s the great unknown. That’s what I keep saying about it. It’s been a really tricky injury to get our arms around and what treatments we can do, if and when you can do a shot and things like that. We’ll see.”
The Yankees are currently playing the Red Sox and have clinched their sixth straight playoff berth. They will start their next series against the Blue Jays on September 26 at Rogers Center.
When do you want LeMahieu to be back? Will he play in the postseason?
