Real Talk! We Have A New Name To Replace Dj Lemahieu

What I feared would happen, did happen and it is unfortunate. It didn’t take long for another injury bug to bite DJ LeMahieu. Only the second at-bat of spring and he has a calf injury. I swear if he didn’t have bad luck, he would have no luck at all.

 I have been worried that the Yankees would rely on DJ to be healthy and just go into the season with the plan that he would be the everyday third basemen, read LATEST BOONE BABBLE MEANS THE YANKEES HAVE PICKED THEIR THIRD BASEMAN. We knew it was risky given his injury history and here we are. So now what? That’s a really good question.

The media is all over this competition between Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera, but I’m not sold on either of this for an everyday option until DJ comes back. We don’t know how long that will be and history shows that could be a LONG time. This is what I wanted to avoid. No offense to either of these guys, but I don’t see Cabrera as an every day guy for us, he’s more of a bench player and Peraza just isn’t ready.

We’ve seen Cabrera and we know what his strengths and weaknesses are. Peraza on the other hand, he doesn’t have the same amount of experience, and he’s also out of minor league options. I think Peraza has a lot of potential, I’m just concerned with his plate discipline. He hasn’t learned that patience at the plate is a virtue, he has a low 6.4% walk rate and high 29.6% chase rate. He’s shown progress with the bat early in camp with a .333 BA, but that is a small sample size so far. We all know how fast that can change in a long season. I like how he’s looked so far but…..have we seen enough to go all in?

I can’t confidently say yes. So who else is out there? Ke’Bryan Hayes in Pittsburgh. I have to admit Michael Kay had an interesting idea on his show back in January, check it out HERE.

“Ke’Bryan Hayes is a defensive magician at third base,” Kay said on Jan. 15. “His hitting is not what it should be, but he’s obviously not happy in Pittsburgh. I talked to Charlie when the Yankees were in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago, and he was like scratching his head about some of the things they do in Pittsburgh with the hitters. Whatever the case may be, if I’m the Yankees, I’m calling the Pirates and go, ‘What do you want?’”

Rumor has it, his father former MLB player himself, Charlie Hayes is not satisfied with his progression in Pittsburgh. Kay is right, Hayes hitting is not what is should be but maybe the Yankees can help him find his swing. He’s defensively sound at third, so this could be a low risk high reward scenario. Maybe. Another plus for Hayes, he’s affordable. He’s owed $70 million between now and when he becomes a free agent in 2030. That’s a long time of team control. It can’t hurt for Brian Cashman to pick up the phone and just start the conversation.

At this point, the Yankees need to consider all alternatives, especially new blood. I wish things were different with DJ, he used to be a good hitter and an impact player for our team. We can’t rely on ANYONE anymore and then hope things work out for the best. We can’t wait around for DJ to be healthy again…..be smart Yankees.