The Yankees have remodeled their roster in a big way this offseason after losing Juan Soto to their intracity rivals in Queens, bringing in players like Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Devin Williams, and Cody Bellinger in order to bolster a roster that came into the winter with a number of holes. But apart from adding Goldschmidt at first, they haven’t addressed the infield. Goldschmidt and Anthony Volpe figure to lockdown first base and shortstop respectively, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. is currently penciled in as the club’s starting second baseman after playing third in deference to Gleyber Torres last year.
Chisholm’s likely move back to second leaves a hole at the hot corner, however, and the club’s options to filling that void leave much to be desired. With two years and $30MM remaining on his six-year, $90MM contract with the club, veteran DJ LeMahieu may seem like the obvious favorite to open the season as a starter for the club. Unfortunately, however, the now 36-year-old veteran took a tumble in terms of productivity last year. Injury woes delayed his start to the season and ultimately limited him to just 67 games, but even when LeMahieu was healthy enough to play his work wasn’t up to snuff. The veteran hit just .204/.269/.259, leaving him with a career-worst 52 wRC+ that was 15th from the bottom among all hitters who had at least 200 plate appearances last year.
It’s worth noting that LeMahieu’s underlying performance wasn’t quite as dire as his actual on-field production last year. LeMahieu’s .299 xwOBA far outstrips his actual wOBA of .239, with that expected number actually being better than the expected production of a handful of last year’s quality infield regulars like Luis Rengifo and Tyler Fitzgerald. LeMahieu’s barrel rate of 5.8% was perfectly in line with his numbers from the previous two seasons, and while his hard-hit rate was down, that drop wasn’t enough to justify his complete power outage in 2024, when he hit just five doubles and two homers in 228 trips to the plate. His .229 batting average on balls in play was also almost comically low, and his 15.4% strikeout rate remained excellent.
While any hope of LeMahieu returning to his former status as a clearly above-average contributor is likely misplaced with his 37th birthday approaching this July, it’s certainly not impossible to imagine a bit better luck on batted balls allowing him to be a roughly average regular so long as his defense holds up. That might be enough to assure him of a nearly everyday role with the Yankees to open the season, at least as things stand. While rolling the dice on a rebound from an aging veteran like LeMahieu is sure to a cause queasy feelings among fans, his competition for the job isn’t exactly robust.
The player in the third base competition coming off the best 2024 season is Oswaldo Cabrera. The switch-hitting utility man had an up-and-down season last year, hitting .247/.296/.365 (88 wRC+) overall while primarily playing third base but also mixing in time at every position on the diamond other than catcher and center field. His bat was quite inconsistent throughout the year, however. After a torrid ten-game stretch to open the season where he managed three home runs among twelve hits, Cabrera hit just .221/.269/.304 with a wRC+ of 62 across the rest of the first half, totaling 198 plate appearances in that time.
While the 25-year-old turned things around down the stretch and hit a respectable .271/.319/.424 after the All-Star break, that production came in a reduced role that saw him take just 92 trips to the plate across the final ten weeks of the season last year. That late-season uptick in production combined with the fact that he’ll only turn 26 later this week might be enough to convince Yankees brass that he’s worthy of another shot as a regular, but it would also be understandable if the club saw it as a signal that Cabrera is best suited for a utility role where his versatility can be best maximized and he can be more easily protected from tougher match ups.
The final top contender for playing time on the Yankees infield at the moment is Oswald Peraza. Still just 24 years old, Peraza is a former top-100 prospect who has yet to make a name for himself in the big leagues, having hit just .216/.297/.315 (74 wRC+) in 259 trips to the plate at the big league level over the past three seasons. Peraza is considered a quality defender all around the infield and has gotten only sporadic playing time in the majors to this point, so it’s fair to argue that he has the highest chance of blossoming into an above-average regular of the Yankees’ three primary third base options this year.
With that being said, however, Peraza’s prospect star lost its shine for a reason. A shoulder issue slowed him out of the gate last year, delaying the start of his season until May. And when he finally made his season debut, he found himself struggling to hit even at the Triple-A level with a pedestrian .246/.341/.394 line across 406 plate appearances. Further complicating the situation is the fact that Peraza is out of options, meaning that the Yankees would have to carry him on the big league roster as he not only attempts to bounce back from a tough season in the minors last year but also attempts to produce against major league pitching for the first time in his career.
Other internal options beyond this trio are few and far between. Jorbit Vivas is on the 40-man roster but has yet to make the majors, posted weaker numbers than Peraza at Triple-A last year, and has a minor league option remaining. Pablo Reyes is in camp as a non-roster invitee but is a career .248/.309/.349 (78 wRC+) hitter in the majors who posted a brutal 23 wRC+ in brief stints with the Red Sox and Mets last year. Braden Shewmake and Andrew Velazquez are also in camp with the club but have yet to show an ability to hit major league pitching to this point in their careers. While an external addition would make plenty of sense for the club, the pickings on the free agent market are very slim at this point, and the Yankees have signaled they don’t have the budget space necessary for a pursuit of a high-dollar solution like Nolan Arenado without first offsetting the cost by trading a veteran like Marcus Stroman.
How do MLBTR readers think the situation at third base will play out for the Yankees? Will they lean on LeMahieu in hopes of a bounceback? Should they turn to Cabrera despite his inconsistency and value as a utility player? Or could they give the reins to Peraza in hopes he can continue to develop at the big league level? Have your say in the poll below:
where’s oswaldo? getting way too many at-bats. perfect bench player who should only be starting for a team with a bottom-5 payroll
dasit – Agreed on Oswaldo!
There’s a perfect solution for both the Red Sox and Yankees third base battles.
A steel cage tag team match, Devers & DJL vs Bregman & Cabrera.
red sox have a gold glove third baseman playing second base yankees have a gazillion dollar payroll and are choosing between 3 offensive black holes
it’s a world gone mad!
Does anyone remember the DJL contract negotiations 4 years ago? He was coming off a nice platform year and was looking for a $100M+ contract at age 32. The Yankees had a 4 year offer on the table, but it was for much less than that. Instead of upping their AAV on their 4 year offer (or letting him walk in free agency), they offered $90M to him but spread it over 6 years to lower their CBT hit. LeMahieu reluctantly signed it.
At the time, a lot of people were worried that the last 2 years of his deal would be bad (age 37-38). It may end up that the last 4 years of his deal turn out to be bad. He had a 1.3 WAR in 2023 followed by a -1.6 WAR in last year’s injury plagued season. He’ll turn 37 this July with a noticeable drop in bat speed and hard hit rate. There were quite a few NYY fans who didn’t want to sign a 32 year old to 6 year deal at the time. Unless DJL can find the fountain of youth this year, it looks like those naysayers were right.
Perhaps the Yankees give LeMahieu 2 months (April & May) to see if he can put up respectable numbers both offensively and defensively but if he cannot, they’ll need to be ready to make a trade early in the season. Third base is a position that playoff teams need to get solid production out of and the Yankees chances of doing so with DJL, Cabrera or Peraza look pretty slim right now. In my opinion, the Yankees need to get above average offense out of their 3rd baseman this year if they hope to repeat as AL East Champs.
the yankees have a habit of giving players extra years to lower the yearly payroll hit. doesn’t take a genius to realize this is stupidly shortsighted
Dotty – I think you’re being way too generous in stating DJL has had a couple good years during the contract.
His GG defense in 2022 somewhat made up for his sad .734 OPS that year.
2021 he was awful, .711 OPS and 1.5 WAR.
2023 he was awful, .718 OPS and 1.3 WAR
2024 he was historically bad as we all know
So at most he’s earned his salary just one year out of four.
By platform year do you mean 2019?
Because during the joke of a 2020 season he played in only 50 games and had absolutely ridiculously great numbers. If 2020 in any way contributed to the contract he got, then Cashman was a total buffoon..
Yankees are still keeping DJL. It’s crazy. Yankees should trade Stroman for Baty on the Mets. Pereza and Cabrera are better on the bench and DJL off the team all together
That isn’t happening.
Mets – Agreed, can you imagine how pissed off Soto would be if he finds out he gave a $92K car to Baty for #22 and then Baty gets traded anyway?
Soto is chillin’ for life, I doubt he gets pissed off about much these days, especially ‘just’ 92K.
Balls – Soto insisted on the Mets giving him a free private game suite for the season and 4 free season tickets behind home plate.
So yeah, every dollar matters to him.
“Baty gets traded”.. Soto’s got enough cash to buy a $92K car every single day without blinking. I doubt he’s worried about Baty getting traded or cut, since Baty will most likely be in the minor leagues anyway. Soto keeps the number either way, so it’s certainly no skin off his nose.
“since Baty will most likely be in the minor leagues anyway”
No he’s likely to break camp with the team.
Fever, Not that I think he will be, but Baty getting traded is far more likely than some team taking on that Stroman contract.
Jean – You could be right, but what if the Yanks include a good prospect or two with Stro? According to Steinbrenner they are desperate to clear payroll.
Yeah, I’ll never say never. Guys I thought couldn’t be traded actually were. But that Stroman deal is so problematic. Just like the way opt-outs complicate trades, Stroman’s vesting option brings so much uncertainty for an acquiring team. Along with a prospect, I think the Yankees would need to provide a financial contingency that would kick in if the option vests.
And imagine how pissed off Mets fans would be to see Stroman return.
The Mets starters aren’t going to be out but for so long. With half of the league making the playoffs, there’s no reason for them panic. Also Baty doesn’t really move the needle enough worry about.
Doubtful the Mets want any part Stroman. If they had wanted him they have traded for him by now..
He’s a Yankee. Probably in the bullpen and bitching like hell.
I don’t rate Baty much tbh.
Baty still has some value while Stroman has negative value. Why would they not sign Quintana than trade Baty for Stroman?
Arenado purposely requested to play in yesterday’s game against the Yankees to showcase himself and see their team up close. Look it up.
…He wouldn’t do that if a move wasn’t imminent.
I’m more inclined to believe Arenado when he said if he was going to do that he wouldn’t do it the first week when he was still building up.
Joe – Agreed, BITA is delusional as usual to think Arenado would take a 6-hour round trip ride just to play half a game against the Yankees.
Furthermore, he’s been playing every other game and the Yankee game lines up with that every other game pattern.
If a move was “imminent” they probably would not have played him for fear of injury
Not saying it won’t happen but i don’t see the Yankees adding payroll without subtracting some first
Rsox – Exactly. The Yankees aren’t gonna pay DOUBLE Arenado’s salary with the 110% tax, he’s simply not worth it.
Correction. He wouldn’t do that if a move WAS imminent. The fact they one isn’t means he was trying to sell himself to NY so they’d reconsider their current stance of not wanting him. If a move were imminent he wouldn’t feel the need to sell himself.
Whatever Ken if that’s even your real name. They want him. HE was the one that was on the fence about being a Yankee.
Can’t blame him with dorks like you as fans…
The facts are out there fella. Look them up
What Youjustmadetyatup if that’s your real name…it’s not, BITA…
BITA – You’re calling out Ken’s name after you yourself just changed your name for like the 7th time here? Ridiculous.
And oh yeah, the Yankees are playing the Cardinals in Jupiter on March 9th. But I won’t resort to calling you a dork like you did, because frankly that would be too kind.
You’re delusional BITA, and also stuck with Arenado and his lovely contract. I’d only say this to you out of respect for other Cardinal fans, but your team sucks.
Cabrera (who can’t hit lefties) & Peraza (who is out of options) would be a perfect platoon.
Why not! I thought they were one guy anyway.
oswalza
Should’ve signed Iglesias.
Like still sign him!
I’ll never understand the people voting DJL
Veteran making the most money. It’s happened before.
He’s too old and injury prone to get the lions share at any position. 67 games played last year, -1.6 WAR. Not a starting player on a division winner
This is who we think will be playing the most, not who we want. I voted for someone outside the organization, but I think he comes at the deadline not now. DJ will get the opportunity to turn things around in the meantime.
It does not ask who should start only who will
My vote is that Hal pony up the money to field a complete team and stop going into every year with a gaping and obvious hole on the roster.
JRam isn’t happy in Cleveland. JRam for Peraza, Oswaldo and Everson is a pretty fair deal!
Don’t make us Yankees fans look like that. Or at least make sure everyone knows you’re just kidding.
Good God, I hope you’re kidding.
“Ah ****, here we go again!”
Other possibilities include Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Lee Harvey Oswald, Patton Oswalt, and Oswaldo Cruz.
lee harvey fields a grounder, throws to first, the ball somehow injures goldschmidt, the first base coach and a player in the dugout. after the game, as oswald is walking down the tunnel towards the dressing room, the owner of a local strip club hits him with a bat, ending his season. a commission formed to investigate how a single baseball could do so much damage disregards a mountain of evidence indicating a “second infielder”
The magic post; homerun by dasit.
As I read that, I was hearing it in Jerry Seinfeld’s voice.
>insert funky bass line<
And don’t forget Oswald Cobblepot.
Other: Need to look for a trade.
If the Yankees play LeMahieu solely because of his contract rather than his production, they’re making a non-baseball decision—one that prioritizes past mistakes over future wins. Meanwhile, Peraza and Cabrera are fringe starters, neither likely to elevate the team significantly.
The Yankees are in win-now mode, yet they’re gambling on internal mediocrity at a key infield spot. Their reluctance to add payroll means they’re relying on a Goldschmidt-Bellinger-Fried core but actively weakening their supporting cast.
If the Yankees were serious about third base, they’d be dangling Torres in trade talks right now to land a cost-controlled, high-upside third baseman instead of rolling the dice on DJ, Cabrera, or Peraza.
Torres was a free agent and has signed with another team. Let me remind you of what your mother told you: Stay off the drugs.
@turko
Sorry…
@turko
Ultimately, they should be trading for a 3B player at this point. But they’re the Yankees and they will keep throwing mediocracy out there because they signed sunk money into players that aren’t contributing.
Have you looked at who teams are playing at 3B? There’s very little quality. Among the decent ones, Machado and Arrenado are overpaid. Chapman just signed and isn’t moving. Bregman is getting a ridiculous amount. Bohm is a poor fielder. Candelario is coming off a bad season. Baltimore refuses to trade anyone. JRam is staying in Cleveland. Toronto is playing Ernie Clement. Detroit is playing Vierling. Angels are hoping on Moncada. Does Seattle even have one? Cubs are hoping on a rookie. Houston traded for Paredes, but doesn’t seem satisfied. Its just ugly out there.
@stymeedone
I guess you haven’t heard of Ke’Bryan Hayes.
I think Ke’Bryan Hayes is a good option for the Yankees. He wouldn’t cost too much.
He can’t hit and gets hurt a lot. The glove would be cool if he could stay healthy though.
Cabrera hit a home run today if that means anything, while Rodon gave up another few runs in under three.
@Pirates. Hayes probably costs too much in prospects. I don’t think Pereza and Pereira and someone else gets it done
Get DJ on the Giambi Juice and he will be fine.
DJ will be given the most opportunities, Yankees are hoping he at least ends up as league average at the plate. But if DJ reverts to anything like his 2024 self, then the Yankees are going to be shopping at the deadline.
If they’re shopping for a 3B at the deadline, and DJL is floating face down, then I would think they would have no choice but to cut him.
And despite having no choice but to cut him because he’s floating facedown, Boone will still place him fourth in the lineup and tell us how he’s “just a tick off,” and getting ready to “turn the corner.”
– Then Boone will be promptly granted another extension, extending his extension into extension eternity.
Can jazz still play 3rd? Or is 2nd also a black hole?
Second is also a black hole and Jazz is a better second baseman than third.
I wonder if any of Casey Schmitt, Willi Castro, Ryan McMahon, or Luis Rengifo could be had in a trade?
I’m thinking that they will all share the position, preventing anyone from getting hot and being successful.
Correct take! This is the baboon way!
Sounds like a very Boone-esque plan, and thus will probably happen….
If he is in competition for 3rd base, why does LeMahieu have zero AB’s so far this spring?
Because they are still looking for his legs. Rumor has it they are in Tampa, but they are unsure where.
The premise of the article’s question is Absurd. The question should be Who SHOULD Start, not Who WILL Start the most games because Boone’s obvious preference is to stick with DJ, no matter how god awful he hits.
As a supposed journalist, Deeds article was a bad deed because of his ridiculous statement that “the now 36-year-old veteran took a tumble in terms of productivity last year (2024).” Apparently Deeds doesn’t know how to Google a baseball player’s stats.
Note: I was a newspaper reporter in both Newark, NJ & The Bronx, NY in the 1970s & 1980s. In fact, I was the reporter for The Bronx News who proposed & got a street named for Thurman Munson in The Bronx when Munson tragically died.
FACTS:
DJ has been on the decline as a hitter since 2021, when his batting average dropped 96 points from his 2020 (Covid year) batting average.
DJ has had one season in the last 4 years with a WAR above 1.5. His 2023 WAR was a pathetic 1.3 and his 2024 WAR was -1.6 (that’s Minus 1.6).
In 2023, the year BEFORE DJ supposedly tumbled, DJ had a total of 44 RBIs in 497 At Bats. That’s poor production for a corner infielder with 562 plate appearances in ’23.
In 2023, the year Before he supposedly tumbled, DJ’s batting average was .243, which is bad for a corner infielder with very little power: 15 HRs in 2023 and 2 in 2024.
In 2023, the year Before he supposedly tumbled, DJ had a Career High in Strike Outs with 125. That 125 K total was the first time he exceeded 100 strike outs since 2015.
So, DJ did NOT “tumble” in 2024, he’s been Tumbling Downhill for 4 Straight Years, and he’s been AWFUL for the last 2 years.
Deeds sounds like he’s mimicking Boone’s moronic line that DJ is just one or two hard hits away from returning to his prior form. Well, DJ’s prior form ended 4 Years Ago.
DJ WAS a great hitter, but he hasn’t been that hitter since the 2020 Covid season. DJ should have been DFA’d by now. And it saddens me to see a once great contact hitter embarrass himself like he has the past 2 years.
So, I guess you will lead the proposal to get at least one dumpster behind Yankee Stadium named “The DJL Can.” The Place where you will find Baboon’s and Cashman’s legacies.
Disagree to an extent….if the Yankees are going to cut DJL loose, they ought to find out if he can still play a little., I’ll grant he doesn’t show much to hope for, but bringing in by trade someone else right now, someone probably both expensive and on the down side of their career, is a waste
The Yankees need someone (anyone )who can hit lead off. I have seldom seen a roster made up so poorly.
I hope the yanks ignore the fans and don’t get some over the hill overpriced bozo like they did with donaldson
They have several good internal,options
Josh Donaldson baby!
None are particularly good choices, but far worse would be trading prospects (to the extent they have them) for old. over the hill, and expensive. The team needs to know whether DJL can play at all, so he needs to get into the mix.