The New York Yankees have two crucial areas of their roster to button up before Opening Day in the starting rotation and the infield.
It has been highly publicized that AL Cy Young ace Gerrit Cole will miss at least 1-2 months with an elbow injury. But now former All-Star and batting champion utility infielder DJ LeMahieu is hurting with a "pretty significant" bone bruise on his right foot, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters.
The good news is LeMahieu's X-Rays and CT scan were negative, and he saw a foot specialist, which Boone said was "encouraging."
However, Boone is unsure if LeMahieu will have enough time to get ready for Opening Day, which is just 10 days away. On the other hand, the Yankee skipper said he hopes his slugger is ready by Opening Day on March 28 and thinks it's reasonable. That being said, he made it clear that it is a wait and see type of deal.
The Yankees did have an internal option to replace LeMahieu in infielder Oswald Peraza, but he is shut down for 6-8 weeks with a sub-scapular strain in his right shoulder.
So, the front office might have to go looking for outside help. Luckily, one veteran utility infielder, who was a multi-time All-Star earlier in his career could be a possibility in Josh Harrison, as Yankees beat reporter Bryan Hoch of MLB.com suggested.
Harrison, like LeMahieu, is a jack of all trades even at the age of 36. Entering what is about to be his 13th season in the major leagues, Harrison can play second base, third base, left field and right field, which were spots he spent time in with the Philadelphia Phillies last season across 41 games.
Although he is about to be six seasons removed from his prime years of starring for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the versatile utility man still put up some solid campaigns with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals from 2021 to 2022.
The regular season is approaching rapidly and Harrison was told on Monday that he is not making the Cincinnati Reds' big-league roster, which led to his decision to opt-out of his minor league deal, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
The Yankees do have high hopes for LeMahieu this year, as he found his rhythm at the plate in the second half of 2023 with a .809 OPS in 60 games. But if he is going to miss time due to a bone bruise, it makes sense for the club to scoop up Harrison to play third base until the one they call "The Machine" returns to the Bronx.
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