Yankees infielder recently underwent an MRI after tweaking a calf muscle during his spring debut and has been diagnosed with a strain, LeMahieu himself told the Yankees beat this morning ( ). Its a Grade 1 or 2 strain, and while theres no official timetable yet, LeMahieu will go at least a couple weeks without any baseball activity at all. That seems likely to rule him out for Opening Day, though the team hasnt yet formally announced as much. Hes meeting with the teams medical staff this morning to map out a timetable. Its another health setback for the 36-year-old LeMahieu, who appeared in just 67 games last season due to foot and hip injuries. He wasnt productive when on Sam Poulin Jersey the field either, batting just .204/.269/.259 with a pair of homers in 228 trips to the plate. LeMahieu posted career-low marks in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate, and his 56.4% ground-ball rate was the second-highest mark of his career and sixth-highest in MLB (min. 220 plate appearances). For a player whose sprint speed checked into the 20th percentile of big league position players, thats obviously not a good trend. The Yankees originally signed LeMahieu to a two-year, $24MM deal in the 2018-19 offseason. It proved to be one of their best free agent pickups in recent memory, as he posted a mammoth .336/.386/.536 over those two years, finishing top-four in MVP voting in both 2019 and 2020. The Yankees re-signed LeMahieu for $90MM the following winter. Thats about the sum he was expected to land over a four-year pact, but the Yankees stretched it out over six seasons to lighten the luxury tax hit. Hes never recaptured that peak 2019-20 form, but LeMahieu was a solid and versatile contributor from 2021-23, hitting .258/.345/.375 with quality glovework at first base, second base and third base. Despite the poor showing in 2024, LeMahieu entered camp squarely in the mix for regular reps at third base. The Yankees budget is seemingly at its limit. Theyve pa sed on adding an infielder at either second base or third base ( can play either spot) and appear committed to going with in-house options. LeMahieu, former top prospect and utilityman have been vying for playing time at the hot corner. LeMahieus remaining two years and $30MM were always going to put him on the roster with some type of role, but his injury opens the door for a younger option at third base be it Peraza, Cabrera or perhaps . Vivas didnt make his spring debut until this week. Hed been dealing with some shoulder sorene s, but hell likely join the third base competition now. Hes already on the 40-man roster. Matt Grzelcyk Jersey