It is clear as crystal now that the New York Yankees are struggling in their offense. Apparently, they have not been able to win nicely since Captain Aaron Judge got out of the main lineup due to a toe injury. The cap left the squad on June 4 against the Dodgers, and since then, the Bombers have won just three games out of eleven.
Currently, the general notion going around is that the Yankees squad is unable to perform solely because Aaron Judge is not there. Fans are even blaming other veterans like Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu & Anthony Rizzo for not putting up with the rivals in the absence of their cap. Apparently, Stanton & Rizzo has gone through injury issues some time back and are recovering. However, questions are rising as to why LeMahieu is not able to perform despite being healthy. But it looks like they have finally got the answer for DJ’s form slump.
Yankees Hitting Coach & Manager Reveals The Reason Behind DJ LeMahieu’s Slump
LeMahieu’s current downfall in his form is mirroring his bad stretch last year because of his toe injury. Although this time, the outfielder is not facing any kind of injury, which can be blamed for his slump. After facing the Red Sox for a doubleheader on Sunday, he has secured a mere .167 (15-for-90) with a .491 OPS over his last 24 games. This streak is similar to the one DJ LeMahieu saw at the end of last season when he hit .162 (16-for-99) with a .344 OPS over his last 26 games while suffering with a sesamoid fracture in his right big toe and ligament damage in his second toe.
Apparently, the reason behind DJ LeMahieu‘s bad form is not physical but mechanical, as per the outfielder himself. He insists on the fact that he is perfectly healthy and trying his best to return to the game. Even the Yankees’ hitting coach Dillion Lawson trusts in the outfielder that he will soon manage to fall back into the form he was at the start of the season. “DJ started off the year extremely well,” Lawson said. But DJ’s load-pointing is the issue that is pulling him back from securing some serious pointers for the team. Per the hitting coach, the outfielder’s load has changed slightly. And that is why he is coming off the ball a little earlier. Although LaeMahieu is getting better at that as well, which was clearly seen in his efforts in Sunday’s game against Red Sox.
The New York Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone also stressed on the same issue that DJ is going through. “His preload is probably not as good as I’m used to seeing,” stated the skipper. He believes that it is because LeMahieu’s loading that he is struggling. But Boone asserted that once he can get there and figures that out, he’s got the hit tool. He’s gotta keep grinding away at it. But when will that happen? Only time will tell.