The New York Yankees put DJ LeMahieu on the 10-day injured list on Monday because of an ongoing hip problem and brought up top prospect Jasson Domínguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
LeMahieu went on the IL due to a right hip impingement, and manager Aaron Boone mentioned that the Yankees’ struggling infielder might not come back this season.
“It’s been something that’s been kind of lingering on him the last couple of weeks. He’s been getting treatment on it,” Boone said. “It’s kind of better some days, worse the others.”
The 36-year-old LeMahieu, who has won two batting titles, is hitting .204 with two home runs and 26 RBIs in 67 games. He missed New York’s first 55 games because of a slow-healing fracture in his right foot.
LeMahieu had a .243 batting average with 15 homers and 44 RBIs in 136 games last season and is hitting .231 since winning his second batting title during the shortened 2020 season.
Boone said Domínguez is a great addition to the lineup and will play center field and bat sixth on Monday as New York starts a three-game series against Kansas City at Yankee Stadium with a half-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.
“I think you know my thoughts on him,” Boone said. “I’ve been a huge fan ever since I met him. Just love his makeup, his talent and he’s earned this opportunity.”
Domínguez was not called up when rosters expanded to 28 players on September 1. He will also play in left field, where he has played once with the Yankees and in 58 games in his minor league career.
Domínguez joins the Yankees three days after GM Brian Cashman said the team was sticking with Alex Verdugo in left. Verdugo is hitting .235 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs in 137 games this season and .302 (13 for 43) in his last 12 games.
Domínguez made his season debut and went 0 for 4 as New York’s 27th player against the Detroit Tigers in the Little League Classic last month. The 21-year-old had a batting average of .314 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in 58 games across three minor league levels.
Signed for a $5.1 million bonus as a 16-year-old in 2019, Domínguez had a batting average of .258 with four home runs and seven RBIs in eight games with the Yankees from September 1-9, 2023, before tearing a ligament in his throwing elbow. He had surgery last September and then hurt his oblique on a checked swing on June 15.
Since coming back from the oblique injury on July 26, Domínguez has batted .309 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in 44 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“Like I said on September 1 when we didn’t initially recall Jasson, he’s in the conversation every single day,” Boone said.
“I think as much as anything, it’s just continuing to build the momentum he’s built here over the last few weeks, where we feel like, especially the last couple of weeks, really starting to be in the peak of the season and play at a high level.
So he’s been knocking on that door since he came back and now seemed like the time to bring him.”
In other moves by the Yankees, Jon Berti was activated from the injured list after missing 90 games with a left calf strain.
Acquired in a spring training trade with the Miami Marlins, Berti hit .273 with one home run and six RBIs in 17 games before collapsing in pain a few steps out of the batter’s box in San Diego on May 24.
The Yankees also designated reliever Anthony Misiewicz for assignment. The left-hander appeared in one game for New York this season and was 3-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 44 appearances for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
