When news broke on Wednesday afternoon that the New York Yankees had designated infielder DJ LeMahieu for assignment, the team’s design for the upcoming MLB trade deadline became a little clearer. In the middle of his 15th MLB season, the 36-year-old LeMahieu’s departure was hastened by Jazz Chisholm Jr. being shifted back to second base, a position where LeMahieu had played in all 45 of his games this season. With the move, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that LeMahieu would become “a bat off the bench” and that LeMahieu had taken the news “not necessarily great.” With that, LeMahieu’s clock representing his time in the Bronx started ticking loudly. It was made clear on Wednesday that this was a decision made by the Yankees and not pushed by LeMahieu. It’s clear that the Yankees are looking to upgrade their infield (something general manager Brian Cashman mentioned on Wednesday), and the LeMahieu move was a clear path for that to happen. With Chisholm moving back to second base, the Yankees now need to fig
