Yankees' DJ LeMahieu Reacts to Harsh Roster Move He 'Didn't Ask For'
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The New York Yankees made perhaps the most dramatic roster move of their season on Wednesday when they designated veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu for assignment.
On the one hand, the move wasn't much of a surprise as LeMahieu has struggled to effectively man an infield position this year. He was moved to the bench to make room for Jazz Chisholm Jr. to return to second base shortly before the DFA was announced.
On the other hand, there is reason for LeMahieu to be disappointed by the decision. He is a four-time Gold Glove Award winner and three-time All-Star who has earned the batting title in both leagues. And the move leaves Jorbit Vivas as the only infield backup on the roster for Chisholm and Oswald Peraza. Plus, LeMahieu is still owed $22 million through next season.
In the immediate aftermath on Wednesday, LeMahieu's reaction to the decision was revealed by MLB.com reporter Bryan Hoch.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 27: DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees looks on before the game against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on June 27, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan...
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 27: DJ LeMahieu #26 of the New York Yankees looks on before the game against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on June 27, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by) More
Cunningham/Getty
"Aaron Boone said DJ LeMahieu was willing to begin working at 3B again, but the position had been too physically demanding for him," Hoch reported. "There were lengthy discussions yesterday and today between LeMahieu, Boone and Brian Cashman. LeMahieu didn't ask for his release and is not happy with the outcome."
Given the amount still owed to him, it seems unlikely another club will pick LeMahieu up off of waivers. The Yankees could now opt to release him, eating his remaining salary, and then he would be an option on the open market for a potential prorated league minimum salary. In that case, that salary would be subtracted from what the Yankees owe him.
But at this point, LeMahieu might have to take a minor league deal to continue playing at all this season.
More MLB: Cubs Reportedly Among Teams Interested in Marlins Pitcher Not Named Sandy Alcantara
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Braves vs. Cardinals Highlights
Cody Bellinger blasts three home runs in 11-0 victory over Cubs Cody Bellinger reacted to his three home run performance as the Yankees defeated the Chicago Cubs 11-0. Aaron Judge also weighed in on his teammates big night, pointing out Bellinger was close to a four home run performance as Kyle Tucker robbed him at the wall in the 7th inning. 8:03 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
San Francisco Chronicle
35 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Giants-Dodgers lives up to hype as Willy Adames, Jung Hoo Lee lead S.F. to 8-7 win
The sold-out crowd at Oracle Park was abuzz on Friday night. Not just for the relevant-again rivalry, but the implications. With the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in town riding a six-game losing streak for the first half's final weekend, the San Francisco Giants have an opportunity to gain ground within the National League West before the All-Star break. Shohei Ohtani captured all the attention early, hitting a two-run Splash Hit off Logan Webb in the third inning. The home run erased an early Giants lead taken on Willy Adames' solo home run in the second inning, but was just the beginning of a frenetic, offensive outpouring on both ends. The Giants answered by taking advantage of Dodgers starter Dustin May's poor command in the fourth inning. May threw six consecutive balls to Rafael Devers and Matt Chapman, resulting in two leadoff walks. Jung Hoo Lee began his stellar night with a triple into the right-center gap, a magnet on this night for big hits. Lee nearly scored on Casey Schmitt's potential sacrifice fly, but a perfect throw from left fielder Michael Conforto got him by a half-second — a call confirmed on review. Then the Giants batted around in a five-run fifth inning. It began with Dom Smith's opposite-field home run, which peaked with Adames' two-run triple into the right-center gap and Lee's infield RBI single to make it 8-2. It seemed a comfortable lead for Webb, who rarely gets that kind of run support and had been cruising since Ohtani's home run. But the Dodgers were smoking Webb's offerings in the sixth inning. Giants 8, Dodgers 7 Los Angeles AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Totals 37 7 11 7 2 6 Ohtani dh 4 1 1 2 1 0.278 Betts ss 4 2 2 0 0 1.249 1-Ruiz pr 0 0 0 0 0 0.300 Freeman 1b 4 0 0 0 1 0.295 c 5 1 2 1 0 0.328 Hernández rf 4 1 1 2 0 2.257 Conforto lf 4 1 1 2 0 1.176 Pages cf 4 0 1 0 0 1.283 Kim 2b 4 1 3 0 0 1.349 Edman 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0.230 San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Totals 31 8 9 8 6 7 Yastrzemski rf 3 1 1 0 1 2.245 Ramos lf 5 0 0 0 0 2.265 Devers dh 2 1 0 0 2 0.220 Chapman 3b 3 2 0 1 1 1.241 Adames ss 4 2 2 3 0 1.225 Lee cf 4 0 3 3 0 1.251 Schmitt 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0.264 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0.244 Bailey c 3 1 2 0 1 0.200 Los Angeles 002 004 100_7 11 0 San Francisco 010 250 00x_8 9 1 1-ran for Betts in the 9th. E_Lee (2). LOB_Los Angeles 6, San Francisco 6. 2B_W.Smith (16), Hernández (18), Betts (13), Kim (6), Yastrzemski (14). 3B_Lee (8), Adames (2). HR_Ohtani (32), off Webb; Conforto (8), off Webb; Adames (12), off May; (2), off May. RBIs_Ohtani 2 (60), Hernández 2 (56), Conforto 2 (23), (46), Adames 3 (48), Lee 3 (40), (10), Chapman (31). SB_Kim 2 (11), Ruiz (2). S_Yastrzemski. Runners left in scoring position_Los Angeles 3 ( Edman 2); San Francisco 3 ( Ramos, Devers). RISP_Los Angeles 4 for 10; San Francisco 3 for 11. Runners moved up_Freeman, Edman. LIDP_Schmitt. GIDP_W.Smith. DP_Los Angeles 1 (Conforto, Conforto); San Francisco 1 (Chapman, Schmitt, Los Angeles IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA May, L, 5-6 4 2-3 5 7 7 4 4 85 4.96 Banda 1-3 2 1 1 1 0 21 4.14 Dreyer 1 1 0 0 0 1 11 3.02 Trivino 1 1 0 0 0 0 15 5.84 Klein 1 0 0 0 1 2 22 3.68 San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Webb, W, 9-6 5 1-3 6 6 6 1 6 91 2.94 Rodríguez, H, 13 1 2-3 3 1 1 0 0 29 0.89 Rogers, H, 20 1 1 0 0 0 0 12 1.59 Doval, S, 15-19 1 1 0 0 1 0 14 3.02 Inherited runners-scored_Banda 2-2. HBP_Webb (Betts). Umpires_Home, Brian O'Nora; First, Mike Estabrook; Second, John Bacon; Third, Laz Diaz. T_2:46. A_40,785 (41,915). After hitting Mookie Betts with a pitch, Webb surrendered back-to-back doubles to Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez. The latter bounced off Lee's glove as he slightly overran the ball. Then Conforto punished a ball into center field for another two-run homer to make it 8-6, and Webb was taken out. Randy Rodriguez allowed a run in the seventh inning, the fourth total run he's allowed in 40 appearances, to make it a one-run game. Camilo Doval came in for the ninth with Ohtani, Betts and Freddie Freeman due up. Doval flirted with trouble. Betts singled and pinch-runner Esteury Ruiz stole second base, leading to a Freddie Freeman walk. Then Smith hit into a game-ending double play.
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Dustin May struggles as Giants send Dodgers to their 7th consecutive loss
SAN FRANCISCO — The Dodgers finally looked like the Dodgers again on Friday night. Too bad it didn't happen until they were already down six runs. For the first time in a week, the highest-scoring offense in baseball finally rediscovered its high-flying form, handing San Francisco Giants ace Logan Webb his worst start all season while sending shivers up the spine of the orange-clad contingent at Oracle Park. But by the time it happened, the club had already dug a hole too deep for even its star-studded offense to climb out of, unable to completely erase an early six-run deficit in a 8-7 loss to their division rivals — sending them to a seven-game losing streak that marks the Dodgers' longest skid since September 2017. Friday, of course, never figured to favor the Dodgers given the difference in caliber of the starting pitching matchup. On one side stood Webb, the crafty and relentless All-Star right-hander who has largely dominated the Dodgers in his seven-year career. On the other was Dustin May, the once-promising Dodgers right-hander who has yet to realize his tantalizing potential in what has been his first fully healthy big-league season so far. For a little while on a cold night along the San Francisco Bay, little separated the two sinker-ball specialists, the Dodgers and Giants locked in the kind of close contest that has been the hallmark of this rivalry in recent years. In the top of the third, Shohei Ohtani even put the Dodgers in front, splashing his NL-leading 32nd home run of the season into McCovey's Cove beyond right field for only the eighth-ever splash-down home run by a Dodger player in Oracle Park history. But eventually, May came unglued, giving up seven runs in less than five innings as the Giants surged to an 8-2 lead. Two runs came in the fourth, after May was punished for back-to-back walks to lead off the inning by Jung Hoo Lee's two-run triple. The Giants (52-43) plated five more while batting around in the fifth. Dominic Smith led the inning off with a homer. May then gave up a single and two walks to promptly load the bases. The Dodgers (56-39) missed their chance to escape the frame, when Hyeseong Kim failed to turn a difficult but potential inning-ending double-play quickly enough at second base. And after that, May was replaced by Anthony Banda, who was greeted with another two-run triple by Willy Adames (who had already homered to open the scoring in the second inning) and a run-scoring infield single from Lee, who outraced Banda to first base. It was at that point, coming off a six-game stretch in which they'd scored 10 total runs, that the Dodgers' bats finally came to life. In the top of the sixth, Teoscar Hernández launched a two-run double that Lee couldn't quite corral on the run at the warning track, before Michael Conforto followed with a two-run homer that soared over Lee's head to straightaway center. In the seventh, the Dodgers struck again, when Mookie Betts slid into third after hitting another ball just beyond Lee's reach in center and later scored on Will Smith's RBI single. That, however, was as close as the Dodgers would come. Smith was left stranded to end the seventh. Kim's two-out double in the eighth was squandered. And, in the most frustrating of endings, a two-on, one-out opportunity in the ninth went by the wayside when Smith rolled into a double-play. The division lead is down to four. For the first time in a while, the offense wasn't the unit to blame. But, as the Dodgers continue to stumble toward the All-Star break, it still wasn't enough to finally snap their skid.
