LeMahieu hoping offseason R&R leads to a healthy 2025

TAMPA, Fla. -- DJ LeMahieu said he took a two-month break from hitting this past winter, the longest span without swinging a bat the Yankees infielder can remember.

After seeing his last few seasons wrecked by injuries, LeMahieu is hoping that a physical reset unlocks the key to a healthy and productive year.

¡°It¡¯s been obviously really frustrating, because it¡¯s the same game I¡¯ve been doing for a long time,¡± LeMahieu said. ¡°My passion for doing special things on the field and my passion for this organization and helping this team hasn¡¯t really wavered, but it¡¯s just been a little more difficult for me.

¡°I feel good right now, and I¡¯ve got to find a way to keep it that way.¡±

LeMahieu, 36, said he resumed hitting in January. He enters the spring as the frontrunner in a third-base competition that also includes Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas.

¡°He¡¯s going to be given an opportunity,¡± general manager Brian Cashman said of LeMahieu. ¡°He¡¯s healthy and he¡¯ll compete, and then we¡¯ll see where it plays out. It¡¯ll answer itself on its own.¡±

A two-time batting champion (2016 with Rockies, 2020 with Yankees), LeMahieu was limited to 67 games in 2024, serving extended stints on the injured list for a right foot contusion and a right hip impingement.

He batted .204 (41-for-201) with two homers and 26 RBIs, and he was not active during the postseason.

¡°For a majority of my career, I would pretty much play unless my leg was cut off,¡± LeMahieu said. ¡°That was kind of my mind-set; I didn¡¯t go in the training room. I just kind of strapped it on every day and played.

¡°The last few years, it¡¯s just [been] bumps and bruises -- I had the [right] foot fracture [in 2022], stuff that I could kind of play through in the past, it escalates and compounds.¡±

LeMahieu, who signed a six-year, $90 million deal with the Yankees after the 2020 season, said it has been ¡°tough¡± to handle his repeated physical setbacks.

¡°I¡¯m not used to it,¡± LeMahieu said. ¡°I¡¯ve definitely lost a lot of sleep. It¡¯s tough to be a guy the team can¡¯t rely on at times. I always take pride in that, so to not be able to do that, it¡¯s definitely frustrating. At the same time, I haven¡¯t lost my passion for helping this team. That keeps me going.¡±

Just looking

Now in his first spring as the Yankees¡¯ starting catcher, Austin Wells has stood in as a batter for numerous sessions this week, though the backstop has yet to swing at a pitch. Wells said he has been hitting off high-velocity machines, but he's ¡°just not ready yet¡± against live pitching.

Wells is participating in all catching drills and said there is no injury issue, but after Wells played in a career-high 115 games last season, manager Aaron Boone said he intends to keep Wells out of Grapefruit League games until late February or early March.

¡°I¡¯m just taking it a little slower, and just also making sure that I can stand in now to see some different viewpoints of how pitches are moving for the guys,¡± Wells said. ¡°We¡¯ve got some nasty pitchers on our team. I was definitely excited to see [Max] Fried from the batter¡¯s box, and getting to see Carlos [Rod¨®n], too; I¡¯ve never faced him before.¡±

Wells slumped late in the season, batting .325 (25-for-77) in August but then just .111 (8-for-72) in September, which could have been due to fatigue. He said he ¡°definitely wasn¡¯t happy with how it ended,¡± adding that he is ¡°definitely feeling good and ready to roll.¡±

¡°The amount of games he played in the second half, at times he was a little banged up, but overall, [Wells was] pretty good,¡± Boone said. ¡°Having a little bit of a shorter offseason, I think he¡¯s in a great spot. He¡¯s doing everything he needs to be ready. I¡¯ve kind of told him, ¡®I want to slow-play a little bit, so let¡¯s move accordingly.¡¯¡±

Smooth Jazz

Jazz Chisholm Jr. looked right at home during infield drills on Tuesday, quickly releasing relays from shortstop Anthony Volpe as the Yankees¡¯ new double play combination continues to build a relationship. It is a more natural position for Chisholm, but Boone said there was ¡°a lot of consideration¡± to keeping Chisholm at third base this winter.

¡°Frankly, depending on how the offseason unfolded, we felt like [Chisholm could play third base] if we acquired something or somebody that makes more sense,¡± Boone said. ¡°Still, that¡¯s the case. You never know how the roster shakes out. I¡¯ve talked to him about keeping that possibility open; I don¡¯t want to get into bouncing him back and forth, but once we settle on what we¡¯re doing, then I¡¯ll make that final call.¡±

Cashman has also suggested Chisholm could fit at either second base or third base. Cashman recently said his intent was to have Chisholm play second base after the July trade with the Marlins, but Chisholm was moved to third base when Gleyber Torres was ¡°unwilling¡± to move, in Cashman¡¯s words.