MLB

DJ LeMahieu revealed to have fracture in foot as timeline to return remains murky

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Social Links for Greg Joyce
Published March 30, 2024, 6:36 p.m. ET

HOUSTON — The swelling in DJ LeMahieu’s right foot has gone down, but it apparently hid something in his first MRI exam. 

A follow-up MRI on Friday revealed that LeMahieu has a non-displaced fracture in his foot, manager Aaron Boone said Saturday, stemming from the foul ball he hit off it on March 16. 

Boone insisted that the new diagnosis didn’t change much with regard to LeMahieu’s status — after he was initially diagnosed with a significant bone bruise — but the Yankees third baseman will get re-imaged in two weeks to see how much progress he has made. 

“It’s kind of tolerance as he builds up,” Boone said before the Yankees played the Astros at Minute Maid Park. “The last two days have been good. I think he actually hit in the cage [Friday]. I know he feels a lot better. … It shouldn’t stop him from progressing now as we go.” 

DJ LeMahieu
DJ LeMahieu has a fracture in his right foot. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Boone declined to put a timeline on LeMahieu’s return, but the 35-year-old will continue to work out in Tampa as much as he can tolerate.

As of Friday, that included jogging, doing his throwing program and hitting in the cage.

Boone said LeMahieu was feeling “significantly better” on Friday than where he was when the Yankees broke camp on Monday. 

“It’s not something he’s going to play through,” Boone said. “He’s going to be 100 percent [when he comes back]. I think the sense is that it should be, over time, fine. It’s just we’re not playing through it.” 

DJ LeMahieu
It’s unclear when DJ LeMahieu will return to the Yankees. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Initial tests all came back negative, but doctors scheduled LeMahieu for a follow-up MRI at the two-week mark because they knew swelling might have hidden something the first time around. 

LeMahieu, who had the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023 compromised by a right foot injury, had been trying to ramp up his baseball activities in the final week of spring training in hopes of being ready by Opening Day, but he was still experiencing too much soreness. 

The good news for the Yankees is that Oswaldo Cabrera, filling in at third base for LeMahieu, has gotten off to a red-hot start to the season.

The Yankees had planned to start Jon Berti (acquired on Wednesday to bolster their infield depth) on Saturday, but Cabrera was back in there after racking up four hits and three RBIs in Friday’s win and hitting a game-tying home run on Opening Day. 

“It’s been exciting,” Boone said. “He’s been right in the middle of everything.”