1. Goodbye to DJ LeMahieu. I always liked LeMahieu and was an advocate for him to be re-signed during the 2020-21 offseason. Did I think giving him a six-year deal to spread out the $90 million the Yankees gave him was the right decision? No. But when you’re worried about the luxury tax that’s what you do and Hal Steinbrenner is worried about the luxury tax more than you’re worried about anything in your life.
The Yankees signed LeMahieu as a free agent prior to 2019 despite coming off back-to-back below-league-average seasons in 2017 (93 OPS+) and 2018 (88 OPS+) while playing half of his games at Coors Field. If you remember, LeMahieu wasn’t even part of the Yankees’ expected everyday lineup in 2019 and didn’t even play on Opening Day. He quickly forced himself into the lineup and hit .327/.375/.518 with a career-high 26 home runs and 102 RBIs. (Let’s forget about the juiced ball that season that saw Brett Gardner hit 28 home runs and Gleyber Torres 34.)
LeMahieu was every bit as good in the postseason that year as well, posting a .976 OPS in the three-game sweep over the Twins and a 1.029 OPS in the ALCS loss to the Astros. He was the Yankees’ best hitter in the six games against the Astros and his ninth-inning home run to tie Game 6 would have been an all-time moment in the team’s history if they had gone on to win the game and the series. Instead, it will be mostly forgotten like Alfonso Soriano’s go-ahead home run in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.
After finishing second for the batting title in 2019, LeMahieu won it with a .364 average in the shortened 2020 season. He hit .364/.421/.590 and led the league in WAR despite missing 17 percent of the 60-game season. He also led the league in on-base percentage, OPS and OPS+.
The Yankees had to sign LeMahieu after 2020. He had become the second-most important piece of their offense and on defense he was a versatile Gold Glove winner. At the time, no one knew Torres would play his way off of shortstop and force LeMahieu to play third and first. No one knew LeMahieu was about to break down.
2. The Yankees spread out the $90 million over 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, hoping the first half of the six years would be the same old LeMahieu and they would deal with the second half of the six years. But after being designated for assignment on Wednesday, LeMahieu only lasted for four-and-a-half years of the deal, and for those four-and-a-half years, he wasn’t himself, plagued by a multitude of injuries, which turned him into a seeing-eye-singles hitter at the plate and an immobile defender in the field.
LeMahieu played in 150 games in the first year of the deal in 2021 (and was two percent worse than league average), but was shut down prior to the postseason — a postseason that lasted only one game for the Yankees.
He began to return to form in 2022, posting a 118 OPS+, but again missed time and was shut down for the postseason.
His 2023 season looked a lot like his 2021 season and he managed to play in 84 percent of the team’s games, but was four percent worse than league average in those games.
His 2024 season was the worst of his career as he hit .204/.269/.259 in 67 games and was on the injured list to end the season for the third time in four years.
He got hurt again in spring training in 2025 and missed the beginning of the year. When he returned, I wrote: LeMahieu has become the Yankees’ family dog who wanders around aimlessly and goes to the bathroom all over the place and lies around and sleeps all day. You try to pretend like the end isn’t near and you try to remember the good times to get through the bad times. Once in a while the dog will do something to remind you of what it used to be, but it’s just a momentary tease. The moments were too far and few between at the plate, and in the field, he was a liability at second base, unable to get to balls within reach. And so on Wednesday he became a former Yankee.
3. It was the right move, though at the wrong time. It was a move that should have been made either during last season or prior to this season. Aaron Boone spent the winter telling everyone how LeMahieu would return to his old self in 2025, the same way he told everyone they were crazy to not believe in Josh Donaldson in 2023 before his eventual release. The same way he tells everyone how good Anthony Volpe is despite every stat and metric suggesting he’s not and anyone with eyesight knowing he’s not.
4. It happened quickly for LeMahieu. He went from starting on Sunday to being told he was going to be a bench player on Tuesday to being designated for assignment on Wednesday. He was a good Yankee and I’m sure some other team will sign him even though he seems as washed as it gets. The Yankees gave late-career Kendrys Morales and Jay Bruce a chance. The Brewers signed Donaldson after he left the Yankees. The Orioles and Angels gave Aaron Hicks a chance. Some team is always willing to give some washed-up player a chance. I know how these things work out and I can already see LeMahieu coming to the plate with runners on second and third and two outs against Jonathan Loaisiga in the playoffs and LeMahieu hitting a 37-hopper up the middle to score two.
5. After the news of LeMahieu’s designation tapered off, the Yankees won their first game since Game 2 of the 2018 ALDS without LeMahieu in the organization. For the second straight night they beat the crap out of a Mariners starter and this time it was Logan Evans allowing 11 baserunners and six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings to the Yankees. The offense has come alive in July with at least five runs in all eight games this month.
6. But the story wasn’t the bats it was Cam Schlittler making his major-league debut. Schlittler looked great in his 5 1/3 innings of work, frequently throwing 100-mph fastballs by Mariners hitters. It was refreshing to see a Yankees pitcher not trying to fool everyone and just throwing the ball right by them instead.
7. Schlittler’s final line of three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings may not look great, but I blame the solo home run on Austin Wells for calling for back-to-back breaking balls to Jorge Polanco, and when they both missed and the count was 2-0, Polanco knew the rookie would come with a fastball and he destroyed it.
I blame the third earned run on Boone. Schlittler allowed a leadoff bloop double to begin the sixth to Julio Rodriguez. He then got to face Cal Raleigh a third time and blew Raleigh away with a high fastball at 98 mph. Schlittlter was only at 75 pitches after striking out Raleigh, but Boone went to Loaisiga, who has been dreadful, to face Randy Arozarena. Arozarena promptly hit a two-run home run to right field and Schlittler was charged with an earned run.
8. There is a lot behind this horrible decision. Schlittler was allowed to face the major-league leader in home runs a third time, but not Arozarena? With Marcus Stroman starting on Thursday, the most innings the Yankees could expect is five, which means the bullpen would be leaned on for four innings. Knowing that, why would you remove a starter pitching well with a four-run lead at 75 pitches?
For all of the talk recently about how Boone shouldn’t be Yankees manager because he won’t tell it like it is, no, that decision right there summarizes why Boone shouldn’t be the manager. He has no idea what he’s doing in terms of in-game management in Year 8 in the position. He had Loaisiga pitched multiple innings and Luke Weaver pitch multiple innings when he didn’t need to. So now both will be unavailable on Thursday when they are more likely to be needed. Boone’s decision-making on Wednesday nearly blew the game before the offense tacked on additional runs and those decisions could lead to a loss on Thursday. Boone, himself, is a bigger problem than the Yankees’ pitching staff depth or their lack of a third baseman.
9. Jasson Dominguez was back in the leadoff spot where he went 3-for-4 with a walk. I’m sure he will either be moved down on Thursday or benched so Trent Grisham can play. Aaron Judge went 1-for-3 with two walks, Cody Bellinger went 2-for-4, Giancarlo Stanton and Paul Goldschmidt picked up singles, Jazz Chisholm homered twice and Austin Wells had a pair of hits. Volpe hit a ball off the right-field wall and was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double. Oswald Peraza went 0-for-4, but his four balls were hit 99, 109, 99 and 92 mph, which was a welcome sight. Maybe with consistent playing time he will prove he can hit in the majors.
10. Unfortunately, the three-game winning streak and the mood around the team that seems to be changing for the better is likely to come to an end on Thursday with Stroman pitching. I can’t envision him pitching well or giving the Yankees enough innings to not ask what is a shaky-at-best bullpen to get at least 12 outs. The best anyone can ask for from Stroman against a solid team like the Mariners is three earned runs over five innings and even that is likely asking for too much. Here’s to him surprising everyone and extending the winning streak to four straight.
Last modified: Jul 10, 2025
