DJ LeMahieu’s season may be over, as the Yankees officially placed him on the 10-day injured list Sunday (retroactive to Oct. 1) with a sports hernia.
LeMahieu had missed the last two games due to the injury, and the decision to IL him came after the Yankees watched him go through pregame workouts on Sunday.
“He went through getting up in the weight room, did some ground balls and hitting in the cage, but we felt in the end he’s too compromised right now,” manager Aaron Boone said of LeMahieu prior to Sunday’s season finale. “He’s willing to do whatever, but in the end he’s too compromised to be able to play at a level we expect with DJ, and that wouldn’t be fair to him.”
The Yankees have known for a bit that LeMahieu was dealing with a sports hernia – “sometime in the last week or 10 days or so we knew,” Boone said – that would require surgery after the season, but were hoping he could manage it.
“We were just seeing how we could manage it so he could play through it,” Boone said. “For now, it’s rest, could potentially be another cortisone shot, but we’ll see.”
Boone did say that DJLM “could potentially be in play” for a potential ALCS depending on the way the next few days shake out, but LeMahieu would not be eligible to return until October 11 (which would be Game 4 of the ALDS if the Yankees are there).
“I feel like I know him pretty well, and he’d have gone out there today and played and laid it all out there with no reservations,” Boone said, “but in my mind, after watching him, it was clear that this was the right way to go.”
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If the Yankees have to play a Game 163 or even a Game 164 ahead of a potential Wild Card Game, those games would be played with the current 28-man roster.
The Yankees have called up RHP Luis Gil to have length behind Jameson Taillon in Sunday’s season finale, but if the Yankees choose to add a position player to replace LeMahieu, the only current options on the 40-man are outfielder Estevan Florial, first baseman Chris Gittens, or infielder Oswald Peraza, who had never played above Double-A until earlier this month.
For now, Boone said the Yankees would mix and match the left side of their infield with Tyler Wade, Andrew Velazquez, and Rougned Odor, likely the latter of which would see Gio Urshela at short with Odor at third.
“Obviously DJ is one of the heart and soul of our team and a great player, so today was tough coming to this decision because he means so much to our team inside the lines,” Boone said. “But like I always say, it creates another opportunity for someone to step up, and hopefully we can piece it together.”
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