The New York Yankees are off to a solid start to the season. At 6-3, many of the young pieces are starting to flash and providing hope for the future. But one veteran could be coming back sooner than most fans think. DJ LeMahieu got hurt in his first spring training game and has just joined the Yankees for the first time this regular season. Greg Joyce of The New York Post broke the news on Monday.

“DJ LeMahieu has joined the Yankees in Detroit. He’ll work out here the next three days and if that goes well, start a rehab assignment on Friday,” Joyce reported.

LeMahieu is recovering from a calf strain that has delayed his season. With the least spring training time possible, he will likely have a longer rehab process than the average injury. But the Yankees have filled his position in the infield with a platoon of their young prospects who have been performing well.

Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza have combined to play most of the innings at third. Cabrera has been excellent on both sides of the ball, with a .316 batting average and no errors. Peraza has not made any errors either and has three RBIs in just 11 plate appearances.

The Yankees can afford to be careful with DJ LeMahieu

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After the Yankees got LaMehieu from the Colorado Rockies for the 2019 season, they got two of his best years off the hop. He finished fourth in MVP voting in 2019, winning the second base Silver Slugger. In the 60-game 2020 season, he led the AL in bWAR and finished third in MVP voting. The Yankees gave him a contract that has not aged well, but that does not mean they should rush him back.

LeMahieu's days at second base are over at 36 years old. Jazz Chisholm Jr is shining there to start, so there is no reason to move him. LeMahieu can play first base, but Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice are likely going to split time there. It will be easy to send down Pablo Reyes, who has not done much in his limited run.

The Yankees may not be able to find a spot for LeMahieu to play every day. With so many young players needing the time to develop and LeMahieu's poor season last year, it is not in their best interest to play him. It will be interesting to see how the Yankees deploy LeMahieu this season.