The New York Yankees continued to look like they’re on track to reach the playoffs, and set themselves up for a second straight trip to the World Series, after a 10-2 victory over the team formerly known as the Oakland Athletics on Friday. The Yankees have now opened up a three-game lead over the second-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East.
But the Yankees are not without problems. In fact, they have two big ones. The first is injuries. The Bronx Bombers have been beset by the injury bug since Spring Training — or even before, when last year’s postseason home run hero Giancarlo Stanton arrived at camp unable to swing a bat due to crippling pain in both elbows.
The Yankees also lost ace Gerrit Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young winner, for the entire season and possibly part of next, due to Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow.
There have been a litany of other injuries, most recently to second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who will now miss six weeks, or more, with a severe oblique muscle tear.
Manager’s Decisions Not Popular With Yankees-Watchers
Now, the injury problem is converging with the Yankees other major issue — the managing style and decisions of eighth-year skipper Aaron Boone. Robert Casey, chief writer for the popular Bleeding Yankee Blue blog, expressed his frustration with Boone in a post published Saturday.
“Aaron Boone is not just bad at his job. He’s a liar to the fans, a terrible master-wanna-be of spin, and the most unqualified manager in New York Yankees history,” Casey wrote, leaving little to interpretation. “Yeah, I said it. He’s worse than Stump Merrill. At least Merrill didn’t insult our intelligence. Boone walks around acting like he’s operating at some high level of strategic genius when, in reality, he’s just guessing—and guessing wrong.”
Boone now appears to have made an injury-related decision that another Yankee-watcher, Sara Molnick of Pinstripes Nation, says could spark a “crisis.”
Yankees veteran third baseman D.J. LeMahieu has been injured since early in Spring Training, with a calf strain.
He is now set to finally make his 2025 debut, possibly as soon as this weekend, but on Tuesday Boone announced that when he comes back, the 36-year-old, frequently injured LeMahieu would be playing not third base, but second.
“Right now, second is more in play with Jazz down for a little bit,” Boone said, as quoted by Max Goodman of NJ Advance Media.
It is true that LeMahieu has played more than 1,100 games of his 1,675-game big league career at second. But his last game there came in 2023, a season when he played only nine games in the central position. LeMahieu has not played more than 80 games at second since 2021 when he was stationed there in 83 games.
Doubts About LeMahieu’s Ability to Play Second
“Meaningful doubts persist regarding the wisdom of repositioning the 36-year-old veteran,” Molnick wrote on Saturday. “Questions about defensive limitations, physical deterioration, and developmental roadblocks for emerging talent compound existing worries surrounding the Yankees’ fluctuating performance.”
The Yankees recently promoted their No. 19 organizational prospect Jorbit Vivas, a natural second baseman. But they appear reluctant to commit to the lefty-swinging 24-year-old.
“Boone’s decision represents calculated speculation,” Molnick wrote. “LeMahieu commands a respected clubhouse standing while delivering memorable Yankees contributions. However, sentimentality cannot compensate for diminished speed, nor does experience eliminate physical limitations.”
Bad News For Yankees Now Self-Inflicted With Aaron Boone’s Latest Decision