New York Yankees' DJ LeMahieu hits a home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. The Phillies won 4-1. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) (Frank Franklin II, AP)
Night and day.
That’s how Aaron Boone compared DJ LeMahieu’s present capabilities to his injured form from a season ago. Foot and toe issues derailed what was shaping up to be another strong year for the versatile Yankees infielder, but LeMahieu hit just .162/.215/.162 with zero extra-base hits from Aug. 8 to Oct. 5, a stretch that included spending most of September out of commission.
LeMahieu returned for a few regular season games at the very end, but the Yankees deemed it best to keep him off their playoff rosters.
“He was a shell of himself at the end of the season,” Boone said Wednesday morning. “He’s back where he was when he was in the middle of a great year last year before he got hurt. So it’s good to see him like that.”
Indeed, LeMahieu is off to a productive start at the plate, taking a .294/.333/.647 slash line into Wednesday’s series finale against the Phillies. It being so early in the season, his sample sizes are small, but he’s hitting the ball hard 63.6% of the time.
On Monday, LeMahieu had three hard-hit balls, including a line drive triple that dove below Brandon Marsh’s glove and rolled to the wall in center field. LeMahieu followed that up with three more hard hit balls on Tuesday, including a ninth-inning solo home run off Craig Kimbrel, his first of the year.
“I feel good. I feel like I’m in a good spot,” LeMahieu told the Daily News before downplaying his early-season success. “It’s only a couple of games. The challenge is to keep it going.”
After last year, LeMahieu knows that his season can take a turn at any moment. However, he said that he hasn’t felt any of the issues that plagued him in 2022 — he opted against surgery — and the Yankees have been keeping a close eye on him since he resumed baseball activities over the offseason.
“Since the middle of the winter, when he really started ramping up, it’s been really good the whole way,” Boone said, adding that he’s been checking in with LeMahieu since then. “Obviously, that’s important for us.”
Boone also said that he’s being “mindful” of LeMahieu’s workload and that he’ll need to take some days off, especially early in the season. The two have discussed the need for LeMahieu to get his soft tissue work done in the training room, even when he’s feeling good.
“We’re on the same page with that,” Boone said.
After trying to force his way back last season, a little caution and rest could go a long way for LeMahieu.
He said that he wouldn’t have done anything differently last year, but his injuries clearly hindered his swing and zapped his power.
“When you’re in the moment, I just thought I could push through it,” he explained. “Then I couldn’t. Now, looking back on it, the way I feel now, I forgot how good it felt to be normal.”
The return of LeMahieu’s “normal” — the 2020 batting champ is a career .297/.356/.419 hitter — would certainly be welcomed by his peers in the lineup. Already, the leadoff man’s at-bats are thrilling those who hit behind him.
“He’s controlling the strike zone,” Aaron Judge said. “I’m definitely excited to see that, especially when he’s hitting in front of me. When that guy’s rolling, he’s one of the best hitters in the game.”
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Originally published at Tribune News Service