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.