Yankees INF LeMahieu feeling good after injury-plagued season

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu is feeling great as the two-time batting champion looks to put an injured 2022 behind him.

LeMahieu was limited to 125 regular season games and missed the playoffs with a right toe injury. He has worked at the Yankees’ minor league complex since December.

“I’m so excited (for) where I’m at right now,” LeMahieu said Sunday, a day before the Yankees’ position players are scheduled to show up for spring training. “How the season ended for me last year and our team – where I am physically and mentally and to be back – I’m really well placed and really excited to be with the guys again. .”

LeMahieu said missing the playoffs, where the Yankees were swept in a four-game AL Championship series by eventual World Series champion Houston Astros, was the worst feeling.

“It’s just to motivate you,” he said.

LeMahieu, a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, slipped 2-for-38 through Sept. 4 before going on the disabled list. He returned on September 30 and was 4-for-13 with two walks, no extra hits and no RBIs. He finished the season with a .261 batting average, his lowest since 2011.

“I’m very confident for this season,” said LeMahieu. “When you get hit, it’s frustrating. It’s so limiting that I couldn’t be myself.

LeMahieu, who received a cortisone injection during the All-Star break, opted out of surgery after consulting with specialists.

“It was definitely under consideration, but I think I made the right decision,” he said. “There were a lot of conversions there for about a month after the season.”

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