What the Yankees see out of a rejuvenated DJ LeMahieu: ‘Looks like there was never a problem’

When the Yankees got swept out of the ALCS last year by the Astros, their lack of production on offense was a major factor. And part of that was because of the absence of DJ LeMahieu, who was sidelined due to a fractured foot.

But after an encouraging offseason in which LeMahieu avoided surgery, he’s now healthy and, according to hitting coach Dillon Lawson, is back to his old self.

“He looks really good,’’ Lawson said Thursday from Tampa, where LeMahieu has been among the Yankees working out on a regular basis.

“He looks healthy, whether it’s in the weight room or on defense or hitting. He’s pushing it with everything, and he’s able to do it. If you didn’t know how last year ended, you wouldn’t think anything of it, but we all saw that.’’

It was clear how limited LeMahieu was throughout much of the second half of the season, leading him to be shut down for most of September and left off the playoff roster.

Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson is encouraged by what he describes as DJ LeMahieu’s return to form at the Yankees complex in Tampa.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Surgery, which would have been complex due to the placement of the injury, would have affected LeMahieu’s readiness for the start of the season, but so far, Lawson said there have been no issues.

“The bat speed is there, and he’s been squaring the ball up and making contact for a decade now,’’ Lawson said. “That will never go away.”

What’s different heading into this spring compared to the latter part of 2022 is that LeMahieu is able to drive the ball more.

“He’s able to take his swing,’’ Lawson said. “Sometimes when he came out there for batting practice [while he was injured], he’d have to come off his back side and couldn’t really rotate into the ball. That affected how he impacted the ball and swung through it. Now he’s able to do everything he needs to do, whether [the pitch] is inside, outside, up or down. It looks like there was never a problem.”

For now, LeMahieu is only hitting off a machine and coaches throwing batting practice — as opposed to facing live pitching.

The next step will be trying to extend the success — and health — he has enjoyed in January through the spring and the regular season.

The Yankees hope an offseason rehabbing a foot injury that limited him in 2022 will bring them back the DJ LeMahieu who has a career .297 batting average and .356 OBP.Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

LeMahieu has been done in by injuries in each of the previous two seasons, first with a core muscle injury that required surgery in 2021 and then by the foot issue last season.

Those health issues have prevented LeMahieu from matching the productivity he showed in his first two seasons in The Bronx and have hampered him in each of the past two since signing a six-year, $90 million deal in Jan. 2021 that kept him with the Yankees.

A healthy LeMahieu changes the look not only of the Yankees lineup, but of the infield as well, given the  34-year-old’s ability to play three different positions.

A shift for the better for Anthony Rizzo

Anthony Rizzo faced the highest number of defensive shifts among Yankees hitters last season, according to Baseball Savant, and ranked third on the team by percentage of plate appearances against the shift at 82.6 percent (behind the switch-hitting Aaron Hicks, when he was hitting from the left side, and Matt Carpenter).

Lawson said he’s eager to see how the ban on infield shifts — requiring all four infielders to have their feet on the dirt and two infielders to be positioned on either side of second base — being instituted this season will impact Rizzo.

Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson thinks the banning of defensive shifts will help Anthony Rizzo rebound from hitting a career-worst .224 last season.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

“He’s done a really good job keeping the ball off the ground — especially last year,’’ Lawson said.

Though Rizzo had a ground ball ratio of 33.2 percent — the lowest of his career — the shift still had an impact on the slugger.

“He does hit a lot of those balls that were considered line drives because they didn’t touch the [infield] dirt, but they were still outs because you had the second baseman out there [in short right],’’ Lawson said. “Depending how guys align and what they want to give up, I think there’s an advantage with Rizzo’s bat-to-ball skills and ability to control the zone.”

Rizzo tied a career-high with 32 homers, but also hit just .224, his lowest in a full season outside of COVID-shortened 2020.

Lawson expects that to tick back up.

“With the shift, the best place to hit it was over the shift, and that’s where a lot of his focus was,’’ Lawson said. “Now, hopefully the middle of the field opens back up and some other balls [he hits] into right field turn into base hits. He’s got the power, but he can go back to being the complete hitter that he is.’’

Gleyber Day extended

Widely rumored to be traded in the offseason, Gleyber Torres appears headed to spring training still a member of the Yankees.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Po

Gleyber Torres has been part of trade rumors since the middle of last season, but he remains a Yankee and has been at the team’s training complex in Tampa on a regular basis.

“People talk about him getting back to being the Gleyber of old,’’ Lawson said. “A lot of that showed up in the numbers last year. Now we just have to get him to elevate them even more.”

A lot can change in two years

It was just two years ago that Gary Sanchez, Luke Voit, Miguel Andujar and Jackson (then known as Clint) Frazier, each were considered significant pieces of the team’s foundation.

Now, as the start of spring training approaches, all four face uncertain futures.

None of them have a contract for 2023, though a source said Frazier, who was designated for assignment by the Cubs last season, had agreed to a deal with a team that has yet to be announced.

Gary Sanchez remains a free agent after a disappointing 2022 season with the Twins.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Sanchez, once seen as one of the best young catchers in the game, is coming off another disappointing season, posting a .282 OBP and an unsightly 28.9 percent strikeout rate for the Twins.

Voit was the home run champ in the COVID-shortened 2020 season before losing his job to Rizzo midway through 2021. He ended last year with a .226 average and 22 home runs in 135 combined games for the Padres and Nationals, having been sent to Washington as part of the Juan Soto trade.

And Andujar was selected off waivers by the Pirates in September only to be DFA’d last week to make room on the team’s 40-man roster for Andrew McCutchen.