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The New York Yankees decided to designate veteran infielder DJ LeMahieu for assignment on Wednesday after he was struggling in the majors recently. General manager Brian Cashman finally opened up about what led to the decision.
Cashman admitted that the Yankees felt it was best for both the team and LeMahieu to send him down to Triple-A Scranton, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. The Yankees' general manager acknowledged the greatness of the 36-year-old slugger and claimed that going into slumps, as LeMahieu has, is part of the game of baseball.
“I made the decision that I thought was best for us as we move forward,” Cashman said. “He's a great player, he's a great person. He's done great things here. Obviously, the last few years have not been what he or we hoped for here, but that's also part of the game.”
The two-time batting champion just hasn't quite lived up to expectations, especially this season, where the Yankees needed him to step up in the infield. Instead, it's been a bit of a struggle for DJ LeMahieu, as the veteran infielder owns a .266 batting average and .338 OBP while recording 34 hits, two home runs, and 12 RBIs through 128 at-bats.
Reports indicate that the Yankees plan to play Oswald Peraza, Jorbit Vivas, and maybe J.C. Escarra at third base after designating LeMahieu for assignment. Manager Aaron Boone decided to ultimately play Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second base, creating a competition for starting playing time at third base.
Hoch also reports that Brian Cashman wants to address the third base position ahead of the trade deadline. With the deadline set on July 31, Cashman also claims he would like to acquire some pitching help as well. So, perhaps we'll see New York make a big trade in the coming weeks.
“I'm definitely going to be looking for upgrades if I can. That doesn't guarantee anything,” Cashman said. “We've lost three starters out of our World Series rotation so far this year, so I've got to look and see if I can find a starter.”
