Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu says his right foot is “100 percent” entering spring training.
He elected to follow a non-surgical plan in his recovery from a foot fracture that kept him out of the postseason.
“We weren’t sure if we wanted to do surgery on the big toe, the second toe or both,” LeMahieu told ESPN on Sunday at the spring facility in Tampa, Fla.
“It was just never clear like, ‘This was gonna be it, and this is the rehab, and this is how it’s gonna feel,’ so I think I made the right decision.”
LeMahieu, 34, batted .261 with 12 homers and 46 RBIs in 125 games in his fourth season with the Yankees in 2022. He started at least 35 games at first base, second base and third base.
The three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner is a career .297 hitter with 107 homers and 581 RBIs in 1,425 games with the Chicago Cubs (2011), Colorado Rockies (2012-18) and Yankees. He won a National League batting title in 2016 and an American League batting crown in 2020.
Yankees skipper Aaron Boone said he was pleased with LeMahieu’s conditioning entering the spring.
“I’m really excited about where DJ’s at,” Boone said. “… He’s been down here for a while. He looks really good; he’s moving really well. It’s obviously something we have to always pay attention to with him and be mindful of, but pretty encouraged about where he’s at right now.”
–Field Level Media