Yankees' DJ LeMahieu Diagnosed with Calf Strain

Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu recently underwent an MRI after tweaking his calf muscle during his spring debut and has been diagnosed with a strain. LeMahieu shared this update with the Yankees beat reporters, noting that it is either a Grade 1 or 2 strain. While there is no official timetable yet, LeMahieu will be sidelined for at least a couple of weeks without any baseball activity. This delay likely rules him out for Opening Day, though the team has not formally confirmed this. He is set to meet with the medical staff to develop a recovery plan.
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This diagnosis marks another health setback for the 36-year-old LeMahieu, who struggled with foot and hip injuries last season, limiting him to just 67 games. His performance was notably diminished, as he batted .204/.269/.259 with only two home runs in 228 plate appearances. LeMahieu's average exit velocity and hard-hit rate hit career lows, and his 56.4% ground-ball rate was the second-highest of his career and sixth-highest in MLB among players with at least 220 plate appearances. Given these challenges and his sprint speed ranking in the 20th percentile, LeMahieu's road to recovery and returning to form will be crucial for the Yankees' success this season.