After spending the second half of last season with a broken leg, DJ LeMahugh has opted not to undergo complicated surgery this year that would have been no guarantee of his health.
That’s one reason why he doesn’t think twice about his decisions, even though he’s in a slump and is in the middle of an average season at bat.
“I have no regrets,” said LeMahugh before going 1-for-4 in the Yankees’ 5-1 loss to the Padres and Bronx. “Surgery will take months to recover and there is no guarantee that it will be successful.”
But even if there were red flags, LeMahu said he considered them.
“I’ve certainly thought about it, but it’s rather the last option,” LeMahu said.
And what remains if the fracture worsens in the future.
Despite a lack of results for much of the season, LeMahugh had a career-best strikeout percentage of his season, as he slumped to 3-for-26 with eight strikeouts on Friday, but he felt okay. He said he was.
“The last few weeks have been tough,” LeMahu said. “I feel like it won’t be long before I can feel really good at bat again.”
He argued that foot problems are addressed with treatments and different cleats, but that’s not the reason the overall numbers are mediocre. He didn’t need the cortisone shots he had last season, but that gave him and the Yankees confidence to get out of the funk.
“He says it’s okay, and the trainer says it’s okay,” said hitting coach Dillon Lawson. “That’s where we started.”
Lawson noted that LeMahugh had some mechanical issues during his swing that affected his power and timing, but nothing out of the ordinary.
“As far as I know, this is a normal slump,” Lawson said.
Both LeMahue and Lawson said the bigger problem was LeMahue’s rare miss in the strike zone.
According to FanGraphs, he made less contact on swings in and out of the zone, resulting in a career-high strikeout rate of 26.9 (compared to a career-high 14.9 percent).
At Lawson, that number jumped out.
“We have to admit he’s been pitching a little differently than he’s been used to, so we’re going to have to adjust for that,” Lawson said. “It’s about where people are attacking him.”
It also relates to Mr. LeMahugh’s approach.
“He’s typically had a disciplined approach, but he’s missing a little more and has more two-strike counts,” Lawson said. “But DJing never broke out and never does. The biggest thing is that he never panics. Sometimes you have to make changes. , last year had that moment because of the problems he had. [physically]. we are not there ”
