The New York Yankees decided to designate DJ LeMahieu for assignment on Wednesday. He was released after clearing waivers on Thursday, thus ending his time with the Yankees.
LeMahieu joined the Yankees in 2019, and his early years with the team were nothing short of great. He was an All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and batting champion in his first three seasons. He was also an MVP candidate twice. However, injuries and defensive inability led to a divorce between him and the Yankees. The Yankees still owe him $22 million on his six-year, $90 million deal.
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Aaron Judge spoke on the move to release LeMahieu. The two had been teammates for over seven seasons.
“He’s going to be missed,” Judge said of LeMahieu to the New York Daily News’ Gary Phillips.
The Yankees are trying to make it back to the World Series, and LeMahieu was no longer able to help that cause. Aaron Boone recently noted that LeMahieu could not play third base because of physical limitations from injuries. The team was catering to his needs and playing him at second base while Jazz Chisholm Jr. moved back to third base.
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LeMahieu was struggling defensively, and the Yankees were also seeing Chisholm struggle at third base. The team eventually made the decision to move Chisholm back to second base, but that meant the only role for LeMahieu was on the bench. He ended up finishing his Yankees tenure with a .278/.351/.412 slash line and 77 home runs. Since the start of 2023, he has just a .665 OPS.
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