The man nicknamed “The Machine” knew that part of him was malfunctioning, but he couldn’t fix the problem by leaving it plugged in.
Then the Yankees stopped DJ LeMahieu for five straight games in late July, then they brought him back and suddenly he was pitching again.
This potential fix comes from a small sample size of just three starts, but with the Yankees facing three left-handed pitchers over four straight games starting Thursday, LeMahieu will have a chance to prove he has indeed turned things around in what has been a mostly brutal season.
“I knew what I had to do, I just didn’t know how to do it,” LeMahieu said Thursday before starting at first base and batting eighth against Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson. “But I think having a few days off gave me a little bit of a different perspective and allowed me to take a closer look at some things.”
“I was trying the same thing over and over again, but it just didn’t work. It was good to see some results and feel a little more positive about what I was trying to do.”
The Yankees need to see more from LeMahieu over the final two months of the season, especially as they try to decide what to do with first base with rookie Ben Rice off his strong start and Anthony Rizzo potentially weeks away from coming off the disabled list.
In his final three starts before Thursday, LeMahieu was 5-for-12 (.417) with two doubles, one home run and nine RBI for a 1.218 OPS. His three extra-base hits were the same as his total in his final 23 games (16 starts) prior to that span.
The underlying numbers also bear out his progress: Through July 30, the final game of a five-game stretch in which he was left out of the starting lineup, LeMahieu’s average exit velocity (on 116 batted balls) was 87.2 mph.
His average exit velocity is 97 mph (13 hit balls) since July 31. His exit velocity has also increased over the past week.
“I feel like he’s got better balance throughout his swing, better posture,” manager Aaron Boone said. “A lot more like DJ. Liven up in the zone. Better balance throughout the zone, no swing faltering at all. If he continues to keep doing what he’s doing, obviously that would mean a lot, because obviously that role is there and it’s important for us. It’s good to see him continue to progress.”
LeMahieu said he was “encouraged” by how he’s felt at the plate over the past week, and while he didn’t go into detail about what exactly he’s fixed during his time off, he said he’s now “hitting better.”
The 36-year-old infielder returned to action last Wednesday at Philadelphia, driving in all six of the Yankees’ runs with a grand slam and a two-run double.
He started again Sunday and hit a walk-off home run in extra innings.
And in the night game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, he threw three good pitches, two of which were hits (one that scored a run and the other that ultimately scored the run).
“I get it, I’m just trying to get it out,” LeMahieu said. “I really haven’t allowed myself to be myself. I’ve been practicing a little bit in the cage. [helped] And I hope that continues.”
When asked what it meant when he just couldn’t be himself, LeMahieu said it was because of his mechanics.
LeMahieu suffered a broken foot in March and, although it wasn’t dislocated, his mechanics may have been off when he returned.
That’s what happened last year when LeMahieu returned from a foot injury that caused his 2022 season to end early, and he found a fix in time to play a solid second half.
“I feel like the quality of his at-bats and where he’s at has definitely improved,” Boone said. “Even for a guy who’s had a lot of experience and success in the league, after a long stretch of struggles, to get some quality at-bats in a row and get some games where he can hit some barrel balls and stuff like that is good for him mentally.”
