Expect to see steady dose of DJ Lemahieu at first base for Yankees

With Luke Voit out for likely the next three weeks at least with a Grade 2 right oblique strain and Mike Ford’s dead bat sent to the minors after Tuesday night’s game, it will be a steady dose of DJ LeMahieu at first base.

"With the roster we have right now, I think that’s evident," Aaron Boone said Wednesday of LeMahieu getting the majority of reps at first. "Hopefully we get Luke back in a couple of weeks."

The lefty-swinging Ford, average at best in the field, never got his bat going, hitting .133 with three homers and a .561 OPS in 22 games.

Boone said he hopes Ford can recapture some of the form that made him so effective in his debut season of 2019 when he provided some key at-bats, especially down the stretch when he hit .358 with seven homers and a 1.273 OPS over the final 20 games.

"I think [he] probably lost a little bit of confidence, wasn’t in a real good spot, which can happen when you struggle a little bit," Boone said. "Obviously, what we saw in ’19, we believe he’s still capable of being that guy."

Early work

Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier and Gary Sanchez were on the field shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday working on baserunning with first base coach Reggie Willits. The Yankees entered Wednesday having made 27 outs on the bases this season, the most in the majors. No. 27 on that list came in Tuesday’s victory over the Rays when Sanchez led off the seventh with a double, then was thrown out at third on a grounder hit to short, something that would get a Little Leaguer benched (Frazier did the exact same thing April 28 in a game against the Orioles in Baltimore).

"The baserunning’s been enough of an issue for us that there’s certain things that we feel like we need to address," Boone said. "At least get them out there a little bit to talk through some scenarios."