Yankees Activate DJ LeMahieu, Outright Kevin Smith

DJ LeMahieu is set to make his season debut, as the Yankees reinstated him from the 60-day injured list before tonight’s game in Anaheim. New York outrighted infielder Kevin Smith off the 40-man roster in a corresponding move; Smith has already elected minor league free agency in lieu of an assignment back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York also activated reliever Ian Hamilton from the COVID-19 list after optioning Yoendrys Gómez on Sunday.

LeMahieu is at third base and hitting ninth against Griffin Canning. He should take over more or less every day at the hot corner now that he’s back from the foot injuries that cost him the first two months of the season. LeMahieu broke a bone in his right foot on a foul ball at the tail end of camp. The team tried to get him back in late April, but he felt renewed soreness immediately after embarking on a rehab stint. That shut him down again for another couple weeks, but LeMahieu has gotten through six minor league games dating back to May 17.

Third base has been a rare question mark amidst one of the game’s most potent offenses. While Oswaldo Cabrera got out to a strong start to the season, he’s hitting .230/.273/.295 in 66 plate appearances over the past month. Spring Training trade acquisition Jon Berti has been limited to 17 games around a pair of injured list stints. The speedy utilityman went on the 10-day IL over the weekend with a left calf strain. He’ll be out well beyond the minimum, telling reporters this evening that he could miss between six and eight weeks (X link via Greg Joyce of the New York Post).

LeMahieu is coming off a league average offensive performance in 2023. He hit .243/.327/.390 across 562 plate appearances. His performance improved over the course of the year. LeMahieu carried a meager .220/.285/.357 line into the All-Star Break before posting a .273/.377/.432 slash in the second half. He’s unlikely to recapture his 2019-20 form as he approaches his 36th birthday, though he should still be an upgrade over Cabrera, who fits better in a multi-positional role off the bench.

Smith, a New York-area native, signed a minor league contract with the Yankees over the offseason. He played in 29 games with the RailRiders, hitting .204/.270/.286 while striking out 41 times in 111 trips to the plate (a 36.9% rate). The Yanks called him up twice as utility depth. He appeared in two games as a pinch runner and didn’t take an at-bat at the major league level.

The Yankees had already outrighted the 27-year-old once this season, sending him through waivers in April. That gave him the right to test free agency this time around, as is the case for all players with a previous career outright. It’s not uncommon to see players circle back to their previous organization on a minor league contract after electing free agency, but Smith and his camp could look for a non-roster deal elsewhere now that LeMahieu is healthy. One of four players whom the A’s acquired from the Blue Jays in the Matt Chapman deal, Smith is a .173/.215/.301 hitter in 333 MLB plate appearances.