4 Yankees hitters who are not helping themselves during spring training

DJ LeMahieu

If LeMahieu's goal was to prove that the "Old DJ" had returned after a troublesome toe injury sapped his power, the most you can credit him for this spring was proving that, on occasion, he could still go the other way with authority. It happened. He slashed a double or two. You can look it up.

The Old DJ, though? That guy hit .340. That guy defied the odds to become one of the game's toughest outs, always good for an inside-out single to start a rally or deliver a crucial insurance run. In 2019-20, he was -- dare we say -- downright Jeterian.

This spring, he's mostly escaped the action unscathed, but hasn't sustained any sort of success, nor has he made any worried fans forget about his scuffles and the aging curve (which comes for us all).

Through action on March 14, LeMahieu is 5-for-24 with a trio of RBI and runs scored. Veterans, typically, do not have much to prove during meaningless exhibition contests, and LeMahieu is certainly one to prioritize getting reps and reentering his routine over results.

But, knowing The Machine -- who, contrary to popular belief, can feel -- it's starting to weigh on him that his ground ball blues have continued as we inch under the "two week" mark before Opening Day. He still has a golden opportunity to get calibrated ahead of him, but the clock is ticking.

Jorbit Vivas

Didn't want to do this. Really didn't want to do this. But, after starting spring with a pair of mammoth, Rougned Odor-evoking home runs, Jorbit Vivas really hasn't done much of anything.

Ultimately, it's fine. He was ticketed for Triple-A all along, even with a spot on the bench now open in the wake of Peraza's injury. Vivas can't cover shortstop comfortably, and third base would be an odd fit, too. The 23-year-old second baseman can stake his claim to a big-league role throughout the year, and even an elite March couldn't have prevented the Yankees from looking outside the organization for infield help.

But ... still ... you can't pretend it wasn't a golden opportunity for Vivas to distinguish himself at a thin position, especially with incumbent second baseman Gleyber Torres' future in the Bronx uncertain and Peraza's future in MLB suddenly hanging in the balance. Vivas showed flashes, but didn't put together a full month; as of Friday, his pair of homers account for half his total hits during all competition.

If it makes Yankees fans feel any better, Trey Sweeney hasn't exactly maintained his ridiculous start at Dodgers camp, either, going 5-for-18 with a single homer. Both players proved to their respective fan bases that there's certainly something in their toolboxes, but neither helped the Dodgers or Yankees emerge as a clear winner in this noteworthy offseason swap. That's probably fair.

Everson Pereira

No Yankee had a worse cameo than Pereira in 2023 -- and that's truly saying something, as seemingly every Yankee who was called upon to show off some savior skills came up empty, save for maybe Billy McKinney. You're a real one, Billy McKinney.

Pereira, known for having some of the highest exit velocity of any prospect in Baseball America's Top 100 (jockeying it out with Spencer Jones, FWIW), instead broke Statcast with the ferocity of his whiffs at the MLB level last season. 14 hits and 40 strikeouts in 93 at-bats, good for a 20 OPS+, isn't mitigating any fans' fears about player development. All Pereira's MLB debut did was confound the fan base further about how there could be such a drastic gulf between the Triple-A level and the bigs.

Something needs to change in the Yankees' communication strategies, as well as the way they prepare top prospects for the lights getting a little brighter. With an offseason to reflect on a September journey that left him less secure in a future big-league role than when he started, Pereira has socked a few balls this spring, but hasn't done much to stabilize his profile. The slugging outfielder has gone 5-for-27 with a homer and five RBI through action on March 14, leaving most fans yearning for Jones and Jasson Dominguez in what might prove to be a crowded outfield of the future if Juan Soto is extended.

Until Pereira can hold court for a sustained period of time, he's going to look more like an odd man out than an exit velocity champion. Yes, even if it's only spring training.