Moose: When will Yankees 'love affair' with DJ LeMahieu come to an end?
With the Yankees down 4-2 in the top of the ninth on Tuesday night, and two runners on with one out and righty reliever Kyle Finnegan on the mound for the Nationals, Aaron Boone elected to stick with DJ LeMahieu in a big spot.
LeMahieu, who currently holds a miserable .200 batting average and .523 OPS, fouled out, and the Yanks went on to lose a game in which the struggling veteran also committed a costly error at first base.
After the game, Boone defended his choice to stick with LeMahieu as opposed to the multiple lefties on his bench, but Moose didn’t want to hear any of it.
“When does the love affair with DJ LeMahieu come to an end?” Moose said. “We are a long way from him being The Machine, the guy Yankee fans completely trusted...that DJ LeMahieu is long gone.”
LeMahieu has been dreadful at the plate since returning from his foot injury to start the season, and even if he has hit an improved .250 in the month of August, his OPS in that span is just .528. With that in mind, Moose says it is past time that someone else gets LeMahieu’s playing time with October approaching.
“I’m not telling you that DJ LeMahieu is not a good guy or a well-liked teammate. He is,” Moose said. “LeMahieu wants to find it as much as anybody else...you feel for LeMahieu.
“Let’s be honest. He isn’t even a shell of his former self as a hitter. The rationalization from Boone after the game made little to no sense.”
