4 Yankees hitters who are not helping themselves during spring training

The New York Yankees' spring record doesn't matter whatsoever. Give fans a clean bill of health and some proof of offseason adjustments, and they'll be satisfied whether a bunch of 26-year-old randos managed to hold onto slim seventh-inning leads or not. Spring training games aren't for winning ... but they are for getting in shape and ready for the regular season.

If certain offensive cogs don't look particularly ready -- or can't manage to show a spark entering an all-important year, which they're beginning at the edges of the roster -- then fans are going to have a little trepidation. Same with hurlers whose arms are lagging. Sad, but it is what it is. We're going to try hard not to judge the outcomes, then judge the weird-looking outcomes anyway.

Several Yankees under the microscope have looked fantastic this spring, with Anthony Rizzo and Juan Soto delivering powerful reminders that they can both lead and supplement an offense looking to return to relevance (and dominance). Others? They just haven't stuck. Some of their bats look slow. Some of their abs hurt.

Of all the Yankees scuffling to make a good offensive impression this spring, these four stand out as sore spots.

*Honorable Mention: Oswald Peraza. Sorry, man. Been a bad month.

4 Yankees hitters who are doing themselves no favors during spring training

Oswaldo Cabrera

In 44 games in 2022, Oswaldo Cabrera posted a 108 OPS+ and 2.0 bWAR, then stunted on the Cleveland Guardians with a bat-flipped homer that still has yet to land in the Cuyahoga.

Unfortunately, that postseason series is where the trouble started for Cabrera. He went just 2-for-19, suddenly looking laggy at the plate. He crashed into Aaron Hicks in left field, showing discomfort in the outfield where there'd previously only been success and acclaim. A moribund playoff run set the tone for a 2023 season that must've had the affable Cabrera questioning his entire foundation; he subtracted 1.5 bWAR over the course of the year, nearly undoing his entire successful cameo from the previous season.

Something has to change in 2024. Otherwise, the versatile slugger will become irrelevant once more under the game's brightest spotlight. The Yankees never want to deemphasize prospect development and move along with diminished assets, but ... they always seem to do that, don't they?

Reportedly, something did change in his approach, but unlike the case of Anthony Volpe's swing path, we're not really seein' it. Cabrera, entering spring with a roster spot all but locked up, but plenty more questions bubbling below the surface, has gotten a great deal of reps, but hasn't done all that much with them. 6-for-32 without a single homer or RBI will make anybody wince, let alone Cabrera, who rarely wipes a smile off his face, but has to be feeling the heat here a little bit.

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.

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.