Former Rockies player DJ LeMahieu cut by Yankees with nearly $22 million left on contract

By MIKE FITZPATRICK, The Associated Press

NEW YORK — DJ LeMahieu was cut by the New York Yankees with almost $22 million remaining on his contract, one day after the two-time batting champion got demoted to the bench.

“It’s been a tough couple days. Some hard conversations,” manager Aaron Boone said before New York’s 9-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners. “But in the end, feel like this is the right thing to do at this time.”

LeMahieu, who turns 37 on Sunday, was designated for assignment Wednesday and fellow infielder Jorbit Vivas was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

New York released LeMahieu on Thursday, owing $21,612,903 from the $90 million, six-year deal he signed with the Yankees prior to the 2021 season: $6,612,903 for the rest of this year and $15 million in 2026.

Any team can sign him for a prorated share of the $760,000 minimum.

“Tough decisions,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “It ultimately comes down to how this roster sits and what’s best. You want to provide your manager with enough chess moves.”

LeMahieu, a three-time All-Star, was batting .266 with two homers, 12 RBIs and a .674 OPS. He made his season debut May 13 after recovering from a left calf strain and had a .310 average in his last 31 games since June 1.

A versatile defender in the past, LeMahieu has made all 35 of his starts at second base this year — even though he’s got plenty of experience at third and the Yankees essentially have a hole there.

Going back to the winter, LeMahieu expressed a preference to play second or first because third base “had become an issue physically” at this stage of his career, Cashman said.

So that’s why LeMahieu played second exclusively throughout his minor league rehab assignment and was inserted there when he came off the injured list.

All-Star infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. began the season at second base, his most natural position, after playing third for the Yankees last year. But he got hurt in late April and when he returned in early June from a right oblique strain, he moved back to the hot corner for a while as LeMahieu stayed at second.

“We gave him runway to see what he looked like, to see if this dimension with the current setup was going to be workable,” Cashman said. “At some point, you make some tough decisions.”

LeMahieu won three Gold Gloves at second with Colorado from 2014-18 — and another one in a utility role with the Yankees in 2022. But his range has been diminished by toe, foot, hip and calf injuries in recent years.

The athletic Chisholm, meanwhile, has made some wild throws from third base lately while hindered by a sore shoulder. So on Tuesday, Boone moved Chisholm back to second and put LeMahieu on the bench.

Boone said LeMahieu didn’t ask for his release and was willing to start working out at other positions — including third base — to provide options.

But a day later, after multiple meetings with Boone and Cashman this week, LeMahieu’s 6 1/2-year tenure with the Yankees came to an unceremonious end.

“Looking at what the next few weeks could unveil, kind of Cash and I decided today like, it was probably the day to go ahead and do it,” Boone said. “I just feel like now and how our roster’s built, maybe this gives us some more flexibility in the short term.”

Boone said third base going forward will be “some kind of combination” between Vivas and light-hitting Oswald Peraza, who started at the hot corner for the second consecutive night Wednesday.