Brian Cashman explains his decision to DFA DJ LeMahieu

New York Post

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00:00What went into the decision to DFA DJ?

00:03Tough decisions.

00:06In the end, it ultimately comes down to how this roster sits and what's best.

00:13You want to provide your manager with enough chess moves to deal with on a day-in-and-day-out basis in the game.

00:21And obviously, once we got DJ LeMayhew, who's been a great player here for a long time,

00:29and once he came back, we gave him the lane at second.

00:33He had communicated all the way back from the wintertime that third base had become now an issue for him physically,

00:41and that second and first would be the more likely area.

00:47So that's why on the rehab assignment, you saw he played all second base.

00:52And so that's why when he came up here, we gave the runway to see what it would look like

00:57to see if this dimension with the current setup was going to be workable.

01:06And so we moved Jazz over.

01:07Jazz was willing to move over to third like he did last year

01:11and to try to give a lane there to see what we saw on the offense and the defensive side with DJ.

01:17And, you know, at some point, you'd make some tough decisions.

01:21You know, you've got to look at it.

01:22Booney was obviously laser focused on, you know, trying to predict as we move forward

01:30that this is the best way to go, and he made a decision, you know, in Citi Field

01:35that he was going to move Jazz back to second base.

01:38And that kind of left us in a situation in conversations with DJ about, well, what's next?

01:45You know, and is third a legitimate option or is it not a legitimate option?

01:51You know, and if it's not, you know, a legitimate option, then where does it leave us?

01:56You know, and so those conversations continued.

02:01And at any point, we could have just kept rolling with it.

02:05But, you know, I met with DJ last night.

02:09I met with DJ again today, and I just ultimately made a decision that best for the roster configuration moving forward.

02:20And I'll give you an example.

02:21So, like, for tonight's game, if Peraza, if Booney wants to pinch it for Peraza later in the game,

02:28you know, currently the alternative to play third would be Iscara.

02:33And that's just not something I could leave comfortably.

02:40And so as we walked through it, talked through it, you know, ultimately made a tough decision.

02:47And that led us to make the roster change today.

02:51Brian, you and Aaron have mentioned in different ways, like, he's not physically able to play third.

02:56What does that mean?

02:57Is something wrong with his arm?

02:58I mean, he'd been a good third baseman before.

03:01I know he's older, but what specifically would prohibit him from playing third?

03:05You know, I don't have a specific answer.

03:08I just can relay, you know, what he would convey.

03:13That, you know, when we signed him, remember, it was a great opportunity for us.

03:19We got a player that, you know, I publicly said was an everyday utility guy.

03:24He can play third, short, second, first.

03:26You know, mostly, obviously, third, second, and first.

03:28And we were going to have him play every day at just various positions, and it was going to be great.

03:33And it was.

03:34But, obviously, since the injury, you know, he shared with me last winter.

03:43So when he went on the IL, I can't remember last year at what point it was, if it was August or what have you,

03:50he got an injection into the hip and, you know, and then, you know, did the rehab from that.

03:57And he may have since then had another injection, so I assume it's hip-related.

04:02But, you know, specifically, he was always just sharing that the recovery was really difficult.

04:09Well, the physical toll on him to, you know, tee up at that position was a problem.

04:19And, you know, so, therefore, that position is a problem now when it wasn't before.

04:24But, you know, obviously, the last few years, we've had a lot of injuries that we've been dealing with.

04:27And he's been fighting through, and I know he strongly felt that the best way for him moving forward

04:34was to try to solely, you know, stay on the right side of the infield.

04:38And even as an example, he played third and spring and popped the calf muscle, you know.

04:47And so I know he was linking that a little bit, too, as, like, you know, as an example of I cannot withstand physically

04:54playing this position, the left side of the infield for some reason, you know,

04:58it really did affect his recovery and something he struggled with.

05:03And so he was openly sharing that, you know, which complicates, you know, the roster fit moving forward.

05:09We were still hopeful that maybe we could, you know, get him in a better position physically where we could try that.

05:17And he was never not, I wouldn't say he's unwilling to still make the attempt

05:22and maybe spell over there, but, you know, it was something that he was without a doubt sharing

05:28that he was steering clear of to the extent he could because, you know, like anything else, he's got a lot of pride.

05:36He's a great player.

05:38He wants to contribute to the team.

05:39He, you know, he loves this game, loves this organization.

05:43But he felt that was an avenue that was no longer a realistic avenue.

05:49And that, you know, kind of ties our hands a little bit more moving forward.

05:53And, again, you start running through permutations as we try to figure out, you know, best way to line up on a daily basis,

06:02whether it's, you know, with the starting lineup or, you know, what bullets, you know,

06:07your manager's going to shoot, you know, from the bench in game when things play out a certain way.

06:15And so ultimately after a lot of conversations last night and into the day and, you know,

06:21just kind of made a judgment call of because there's no right time to do any moves

06:26but just felt like this probably isn't going to, you know, be the best circumstance moving forward then.

06:34And I definitely didn't want to put ourselves in a position where we're cut short in a game

06:39and with the flexibility that you want your manager to have.

06:43So I designated him for assignment today.

06:48Given the toll that injuries have taken on him in recent years,

06:51was this a move that you considered doing in the offseason before this?

06:55There was no pressure point.

06:56Obviously, you know, we're invested in him.

06:59You know, his contract's through next year.

07:02Yeah, they always have hope.

07:03He fought every step of the way to put himself in a position to, you know,

07:13reclaim, you know, where he was and obviously be an everyday player

07:18and, you know, getting the time off from the end of last year with the injection and the hip

07:25and then the due diligence and the work.

07:29Coming into spring training, I think he felt good that he was in a better place.

07:32Obviously, we're hopeful.

07:33We're hopeful that, all right, let's see what this looks like.

07:35And then we lost him, you know, I think it was the very first game he pulled the calf.

07:41And, you know, obviously had to wait for him to recover and then get the rehab games going.

07:47And the rehab games are tough because we kept getting rain outs and stuff like that during that process.

07:51But, you know, so it's kind of like waiting to see what we're going to see, you know,

07:56because it's been the last few years of injuries and I'm not sure, you know, where that was going to leave us.

08:00So a lot of, you know, I guess the gray area of timing,

08:10which is when is enough time that you can make a true judgment here that this is at least what it is here currently

08:20as this current roster is constructed and this is how it's going to play

08:24and is that in our best interest moving forward, obviously, or not.

08:29And so, again, just that's what led into the decision I made today.

08:33And so, again, just that's what led into the decision I made today.

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