Why DJ LeMahieu Is Close to Breaking Out

If the New York Yankees are going to have success this season, they will need to see more out of DJ LeMahieu.

After re-signing LeMahieu to a six-year, $90 million contract in the offseason, the second baseman has gotten off to a rather quiet start offensively. While he hasn’t been terrible with the bat, LeMahieu hasn’t lived up to expectations.

So far, LeMahieu hasn’t been close to the player he was in 2019 and 2020, where he was the Yankees’ Most Valuable Player, winning a batting title along the way.

LeMahieu’s strikeout percentage has gone from 9.7 percent in 2020 to 16.5 percent this season and his slash line with runners in scoring position is .286/.382/.321, lower than what the Yankees are used to seeing. LeMahieu hit 364/.405/.455 with RISP last year.

Since signing his new deal, LeMahieu’s OPS has also seen a significant drop this season at .734, compared to last year’s 1.011 and 2019’s .893.

The 32-year-old really hasn’t made the same impact in the Yankees’ lineup that they have been accustomed to seeing in recent years, and that must change if they are going to keep pace in the AL East.

Last night, however, the Yankees received a glimmer of hope. LeMahieu went 1-for-4 and drove in three runs in the team’s comeback win over the Texas Rangers.

The Yankees came back from three runs down with a monster five-run fourth inning. An RBI single off the bat of Miguel Andújar tied things at three, before LeMahieu finished the job with a two-run double with the bases loaded and two outs to put the Yankees ahead 5-3.

Later on, LeMahieu gave the Yankees a much-needed insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.

This type of impact is what the Yankees saw out of LeMahieu in his first two seasons in the Bronx. He was by far the best player on the team for a two-year span, and that’s why they dished out a substantial long-term contract to him in the offseason in order to keep him in pinstripes.

With big bopper Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list, LeMahieu must step up and continue to prove that he is the special player that the Yankees had to hang on to. Behind a red-hot Aaron Judge, LeMahieu is the Yankees’ second-best hitter and he needs to start acting like it.

For now, Tuesday night’s performance was a big step in the right direction, a promising sign that a breakout could be on the horizon.

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