NEW YORK — The Yankees delayed the start of DJ LeMahieu‘s minor league injury rehabilitation assignment after an MRI showed the fracture in his right foot has not fully healed.
The 35-year-old, a two-time batting champion, has been sidelined since fouling a ball off the foot during a spring training game on March 16. He was to have started the rehab assignment Friday but remained in New York. The earliest he will report to a minor league team is Tuesday.
“He’s doing really well and I know he feels ready to go, but the foot specialist has weighed in,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ series opener against Tampa Bay. “We want to make sure this thing’s 100 percent. He’s close to that now. We’re just being conservative with this thing.”
LeMahieu continued fielding ground balls and taking batting practice.
“I feel ready to go,” LeMahieu said. “I’m ready to get out there and get in some games. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”
LeMahieu hit a career-low .243 last year with 15 homers and 44 RBIs in 136 games. He batted .220 in the first half last but .273 in the second half.
In 2022, he missed the postseason because a broken sesamoid bone in his right big toe that led to ligament damage in his other toe.
Also Friday, the Yankees placed reliever Nick Burdi on the 15-day injured list because of right hip inflammation, a move retroactive to Wednesday. The right-hander felt pain on the last pitch of his outing Tuesday in Toronto.
Burdi is 1-0 in seven scoreless appearances this season.
Right-hander Cody Morris was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, where he had a 1.93 ERA in four games. Morris had a 6.75 ERA in six relief appearances last year for Cleveland, which traded him to the Yankees for outfielder Estevan Florial.
Outfielder Taylor Trammell was added to the active roster, a day after he was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.