While the New York Yankees now top the American League East, the team is only expected to improve. DJ LeMahieu and Gerrit Cole are getting closer to returning to the Yankees.
LeMahieu is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at Double-A on Thursday or Friday, according to Greg Joyce of The New York Post. It will be LeMahieu’s second rehab assignment, after the first was cut short due to renewed soreness.
The infielder is recovering from a non-displaced fracture in his foot, which occurred after a foul ball. He hasn’t played in two months, and previous rehab assignment troubles will cause a setback in plans. However, LeMahieu is now back on track. Manager Aaron Boone is eager to see how LeMahieu reacts to game action, but he is not issuing strict playing time guidelines.
“We don’t have a hard and fast [number of at-bats] with him, but definitely want him to play games and get some volume under his belt,” Boone stated. “Then we’ll see how comfortable he is as he goes at-bat wise.”
Cole, the reigning Cy Young winner, completed a 36-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday. It was his fourth bullpen session, following 29 pitches on Saturday.
Cole is recovering from elbow nerve irritation, which has kept him out all season. He hopes to go to “two-up” bullpen sessions, in which he would pitch an inning, rest, and then throw additional pitches. It is unclear when that jump will occur. For the time being, Boone is simply hoping that Cole will continue to recover and gain strength.
“Just onward and upward,” Boone said Cole.
LeMahieu and Cole do not have a specific return date. The infielder appears much closer than the pitcher. Even without both players, New York has managed to stack wins.
How Yankees replaced DJ LeMahieu and Gerrit Cole
At 28-15, the Yankees have a half-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are two examples of New York’s offensive firepower. However, they have had to compensate for the absences of LeMahieu and Cole.
While LeMahieu can play all over the infield, he played the most of his 2023 games at third base. In 2024, New York has chosen Oswaldo Cabrera and Jon Berti at the hot corner. Cabrera is batting.262 with four home runs, 20 RBI, and two stolen bases in 37 games. Berti is hitting.263 with two RBI and two stolen bases in 12 games.
Neither may be on LeMahieu’s level, but both have shown useful when called upon. The Yankees’ offence would improve with LeMahieu, but they still rank eighth in the league with 207 runs scored.
Cole may still be waiting his turn, but the Yankees did see Carlos Rodon return in 2024. He has the team’s third lowest ERA (3.31) among pitchers with 40 or more innings pitched. The two players above him are two of New York’s lesser-known starters, Luis Gil (2.51) and Clarke Schmidt (2.95). Rodon still leads the squad in strikeouts, with 49.
With Cole on the mend, the Yankees have done much more than patchwork with veterans like Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman. New York has a 3.05 ERA, which ranks second in the MLB.
The Yankees may be succeeding, but they’ll be even more confident with DJ LeMahieu and Gerrit Cole in the dugout. New York supporters will have to wait a little longer, but both players are developing in the meantime.
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