With seven wins in the last 10 games, the New York Yankees managed to complete their season turnaround and make it to the playoffs with a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. However, they already have the odds stacked against them as they will not be able to count on All-Star infielder DJ LeMahieu and reliable first baseman Luke Voit moving forward.
LeMahieu is dealing with a sports hernia and was placed on the injured list over the weekend. This rules out the 33-year-old star for both the AL wild-card game against the Boston Red Sox and the possible AL Divisional Series against the Rays.
“He’s willing to do whatever if we wanted him to go out there, but I just feel like in the end he’s too compromised to be able to play at a level close to what we would expect of DJ,” manager Aaron Boone said of LeMahieu. “In the end, I just don’t think that’s fair to him.”
Boone added that LeMahieu might make a return this season, but the Yankees would have to reach the AL Championship Series for that to happen.
Voit is also heading on the injured list and there is no chance of him returning in 2021. The 30-year-old player is dealing with knee inflammation and will miss the Yankees’ postseason run no matter how deep the team goes.
LeMahieu played 150 games in the regular season, batting .268 and hitting 10 home runs alongside 57 RBIs. Voit, on the other hand, managed a .239 batting average with 11 homers and 35 RBIs.
