TAMPA — This is a quiz. So put on your thinking cap.
Which of the below two quotes did Aaron Boone say about DJ LeMahieu on Wednesday, the reporting date for pitchers and catchers?
A) “He’s just more explosive, to me, in the batting cage. It’s very noticeable. I felt like he started to address some things in the second half of last season and put together a stronger second half. But to me, he’s even in a way better physical position than he was then and any time probably in the last couple years.”
Or …
B) “I’m really excited about where DJ’s at. It’s something that we’re always paying close attention to. But he’s been in a pretty good spot now for a while. He’s been down here for a while. He looks really good, he’s moving really well.”
The answer is that Boone said A on Wednesday. But it’s extra credit if you knew that he said B on Thursday.
This fits Boone’s optimistic nature. Publicly, the Yankees’ manager has shown a greater inclination to do motor oil shots than criticize one of his players. And this is LeMahieu, whose stoic gamer demeanor means “he has a ton of respect in the room” in Gerrit Cole’s words. So Yankees folks are more likely to see LeMahieu with their hearts first.
Which is fine if YES were gathering info for a “Yankeeography.” But Boone was speaking about LeMahieu hitting leadoff in 2024 in his most idealized lineup. Which is no small item, since Juan Soto and Aaron Judge are to follow. Thus, you would like a leadoff man who gets on base frequently making it harder to pitch around Nos. 2-3 and easier to deliver runs.
The LeMahieu of 2019-20 would be ideal, since his DJ could have stood for Derek Jeter the way his unflappable nature and opposite-field approach had him in MVP contention both years. But the statistical and physical retreat since is hard to miss — even if you see with your heart.
To bet on LeMahieu now, you have to ignore age. At 35, he is currently the 11th oldest position player on a 40-man roster (which could change if/when a Brandon Belt or J.D. Martinez, etc. signs). What is unlikely to change — unless Josh Donaldson or Evan Longoria get full-time jobs — is that LeMahieu, 36 in July, is going to be the majors’ oldest non-first base regular infielder as he is ticketed to be the everyday third baseman.
And to bet on LeMahieu now you have to believe that a fracture in his right foot explains his plummet late in 2022 that was still impairing him for the first half last season or right after Boone’s positivism in February.
LeMahieu had a Jekyll/Hyde 2023. In the first half, he hit .220 in 305 plate appearances with a .643 OPS, a 7.9 walk percentage and a 23.3 whiff percentage. In the second half, LeMahieu hit .273 in 257 plate appearances with an .809 OPS, a 14.0 walk percentage and a 21.0 strikeout percentage.
That second-half guy — whose on-base percentage climbed from .285 to .377 — would be close to ideal (minus the lack of speed) to hit in front of Soto/Judge. In 2022, before the foot injury, LeMahieu had the eighth best walk rate (13.7) among qualified hitters despite hitting in front of Judge en route to 62 homers — so at a time when his eye had to be acute because no pitcher wanted to walk the hitter in front of Judge. At that moment, Soto was second in the majors in on-base percentage, LeMahieu sixth and Judge seventh; so you see the potential (if all is right) to grind pitchers from the top of this Yankees lineup.
And for someone who works as hard and cares as much as LeMahieu, I would not bet against him. But even in the better second half, the 21.0 percent strikeout rate was so much higher than the 13.1 of his first four Yankees seasons combined. His 9.1 percentage point rise was the largest from 2022 to 2023 among players with at least 400 plate appearances in each season. Was that the age creeping in?
season. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Plus, LeMahieu fits into a Yankees theme. Do they get Jekyll or Hyde from 2023 for their 2024 lineup? Is, for example, Anthony Rizzo closer to pre-concussion (.880 OPS) or post (.496)? Is Alex Verdugo first half (.817) or second (.635)? Is Soto closer to the very good producer through August last season (.883) or the guy who thrived in September garbage time for the Padres (1.156)? In the extremely small sample size bucket: Austin Wells’ first 11 games (.372) or final eight (1.214)?
But it starts at the top — do the Yanks get first-half LeMahieu in front of Soto/Judge or the second?
“LeMahieu looks really good,” Brian Cashman said. “We’re certainly optimistic of him coming back to being what he showed toward the end of last year; maybe knocking that injury issue that he’s had to deal with took a little longer than any of us would have hoped. We saw flashes toward the end of last year that he was getting back on track. This winter, he really looks like he usually does and what we can count on. So that’s exciting for us.”
Is that the optimism of February? Or reality?
