Released Yankees Infielder Unhappy With Aaron Boone
There's more drama in The Bronx
The Boston Red Sox have gone 8-2 during their last ten games and have jumped back into the American League Wild Card picture following consecutive series sweeps of the Washington Nationals and Colorado Rockies.
While the Red Sox have been enjoying a recent resurgence in the AL East division standings, the same cannot be said of the New York Yankees, who have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games and find themselves 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays for the division lead.
In addition to the Yankees’ recent struggles, the team also recently lost right-handed starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt, who will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season, joining fellow right-handers Gerrit Cole and Jake Cousins, who also suffered similar elbow injuries earlier this season.
The escalating drama in The Bronx has also extended onto the field. The Yankees recently decided to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base and install Oswald Peraza at third base. At the same time, the team reportedly searches for an upgrade at the position before the upcoming trade deadline. On Wednesday, in a shocking move, the Yankees released long-time infielder DJ LeMahieu.
Owing to the balance of the $30 million remaining on his contract through 2026, cutting ties with LeMahieu seemed to come out of nowhere. Healthy again after missing significant time last season, the 15-year veteran and three-time All-Star was caught off guard and is not happy with Yankees manager Aaron Boone and senior vice president Brian Cashman about being released by the team, according to a social media post from MLB.com Yankees insider Bryan Hoch.
“Aaron Boone said DJ LeMahieu was willing to begin working at 3B again, but the position had been too physically demanding for him,” said Hoch. “There were lengthy discussions yesterday and today between LeMahieu, Boone and Brian Cashman. LeMahieu didn’t ask for his release and is not happy with the outcome.”
LeMahieu was batting .266 with 34 hits, two home runs, and 12 RBI in 128 at-bats before being released, and could latch on with a rival team looking for a versatile veteran bat. Meanwhile, the Yankees have been connected to several rumored to be available third basemen, such as Arizona Diamondbacks’ slugger Eugenio Suárez, over the last couple of weeks.
