Before this year, when DJ LeMahieu has struggled this badly at the plate, there has usually been an injury-related reason for it.
But the Yankees’ 36-year-old third baseman insisted on Sunday he was fully healthy, despite batting just .177 with a .471 OPS through 39 games.
“I feel good,” LeMahieu said Sunday morning in The Bronx. “Feel good. Feel good enough to do my job.”
Aaron Boone gave LeMahieu a breather on Sunday against the Rays, though he only said “we’ll see” when asked whether it was a one-off or part of a few-day break for the scuffling veteran.
LeMahieu, who was hampered by a foot/toe injury for parts of the last two years, missed the first two months of this season after fouling a ball off his foot in March and suffering a non-displaced fracture.
Since returning, he has been a shell of his former self, sapped of the productivity he once offered at the plate as a former two-time batting champion.
“Just trying to work through it,” LeMahieu said. “It just hasn’t been very consistent. I feel like I’m on to something and then kind of go backwards a little bit and then get on to something. The consistency hasn’t been there.”
Asked about his level of confidence that he could break out of this, LeMahieu softly chuckled.
“I mean, it hasn’t given me much hope over the last month or so,” he said. “But as long as I’ve played this game, whatever challenges presented themselves, I’ve always come out of it, one way or another. Just keep showing up, keep working. That’s gotten me a lot of success in my career.”
LeMahieu said this has been one of the most frustrating stretches of his career, sinking to a new low of late as he entered Sunday 0-for-17 over his last six games.
Oswaldo Cabrera started at third base on Sunday and the Yankees are expected to be in the market for a corner infielder ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.
But LeMahieu, who still has two years and $30 million left on his contract after this season, indicated he was just focused on himself.
“It sucks. It’s not fun,” he said. “But I will say, our team’s a special team, so showing up with a special team and a special group keeps me going, for sure.”