Yankees Place DJ LeMahieu on Injured List With Left Thumb Sprain, Recall Miguel Andújar

NEW YORK — Yankees' second baseman DJ LeMahieu has been placed on the 10-day injured list, the team announced Sunday morning.

The official diagnosis on LeMahieu's injury—forcing the leadoff man to exit Saturday night's game early—is a left thumb sprain.

LeMahieu was sent to a nearby hospital for a battery of tests on Saturday night. After the 11-5 win, New York's manager Aaron Boone said the star second baseman "could be" bound for an IL stint.

After whiffing on a pitch in the fourth inning, LeMahieu was checked out by his manager and a trainer. He initially stayed in the game, but was taken out just one inning later.

Between innings, Aaron Boone and several players huddled around DJ LeMahieu. He was checked out by Boone and a trainer after a swing and miss in the bottom of the fourth before grounding out to end the inning.

As of now, he’s staying in the game. pic.twitter.com/H41jZaFjwf
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) August 16, 2020

Utilityman Miguel Andújar has been recalled from the Yankees' alternate site to replace LeMahieu on the club's active roster and will rejoin the Bombers on Sunday.

After going 0-for-3 before leaving the game, LeMahieu's American League-leading batting average dipped to .411. No other player in the AL has a batting average within 50 points of LeMahieu (Toronto's Bo Bichette is in second on the leaderboard, hitting .361).

READ: Yankees DJ LeMahieu Leaves Game With Sprained Left Thumb

New York suffered more injuries last season than any other team in MLB history. This summer has featured much of the same.

LeMahieu joins Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the Injured List, as well as backup catcher Kyle Higashioka. New York is hopeful Judge can return to baseball activity as soon as Monday while Stanton is expected to miss three-plus weeks.

While the team has yet to announce how long LeMahieu will likely be sidelined, the infielder's history with left thumb sprains can be used as a gauge to make a prediction. In 2018, LeMahieu was sidelined for 15 games with the same injury.

Worth noting. This isn't the first time DJ LeMahieu has sprained his left thumb.

In May of 2018, LeMahieu landed on the 10-day DL with the same injury. Did some digging and I believe he sustained that sprain on a swing and miss as well.

That thumb injury made DJ miss 15 games.
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) August 16, 2020

As Boone described it after the game, LeMahieu had informed his skipper that he had a similar feeling Saturday night as he did two years ago. Boone also revealed the second baseman wears a brace underneath his glove at all times, a sign that perhaps his left thumb is sensitive and susceptible to injury.

Andújar was sent down to the Yankees' alternate site close to two weeks ago in order to add reinforcements to the bullpen. Thairo Estrada—who was recalled when Judge was placed on the IL—and utilityman Tyler Wade are likely replacements in LeMahieu's absence.

Plagued by injuries, LeMahieu's consistency and reliability made him this club's most indispensable player a year ago. He finished fourth in the race for AL MVP, hitting .327 with 26 home runs and 102 RBI. The veteran played in 145 games, filling in at three different positions in the infield.

Judge, who said he feels 100 percent despite being placed on the IL, explained that LeMahieu is the "catalyst" of New York's high-octane offense.

"It doesn’t matter the time of the game, the situation, what’s going on, how he’s feeling, he’s going to go up there and give a quality at-bat. He’s going to get the offense started," Judge said. "Missing an MVP like that is something that’s going to hurt, but I know we have a lot of guys that are waiting to fill that role and step up for the time being until he comes back."

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