DJ LeMahieu Becomes Latest Yankees Hitter to Land on IL

LeMahieu has been hampered by a sprained big toe.

DJ LeMahieu has landed on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right second toe.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced the move, retroactive to Sept. 5, on The Michael Kay Show Thursday before it was announced prior to New York’s series finale against the Twins. Miguel Andújar took LeMahieu’s spot on the roster after serving as the Yankees’ 29th man during their doubleheader on Wednesday.

“It is kind of a complicated, tricky injury,” Boone told Kay. “We do feel like an I.L. stint, hopefully they can get their arms around this better. Hopefully the time out is something that can serve him well. Obviously, he’s such an enormous part of our team and was in the midst of such a great season.”

Boone went on to tell reporters that LeMahieu’s injury has “clearly compromised him,” and that there’s some concern he may not return this year, but the hope is that this time on the shelf helps.

Aaron Boone talks about if he's concerned DJ LeMahieu will miss the remainder of the season:

"DJ's been dealing with this for a few weeks where it's clearly compromised him. Yeah there's that concern, but there's also hope with that" pic.twitter.com/8OuMieHWyn

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) September 8, 2022

The infielder’s right big toe hindered him in mid-August, and LeMahieu’s current inflammation has had him sidelined since Sunday. The 34-year-old has struggled mightily over his last 20 games, slashing .128/.179/.128 with zero extra-base hits and three RBI.

Overall, LeMahieu is hitting .262/.358/.381 with 12 homers and 46 RBI this season.

LeMahieu is the latest prominent Yankees hitter to land on the I.L., joining Anthony Rizzo, Andrew Benintendi and Matt Carpenter. The Yankees did get some good news for their lineup on Thursday, however, as Boone said that Giancarlo Stanton (foot/ankle) could return this weekend. The skipper also said Josh Donaldson could come off the paternity list Saturday.

Left-hander Nestor Cortes, meanwhile, was activated off the I.L. and is starting against the Twins Thursday. 

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