Has the old D.J. somehow returned? The Yankees owe it to him to find out.

For the last two seasons, DJ LeMahieu has occupied a rickety elevator, perpetually going down. It's been hard not to write him off. 

In 2023, he hit .243 - lowest of his 15-year career. In 2024, he finished at .204. Terrible. The only things he had going were excuses: He was constantly hurt. This spring, when he quickly checked out with a tweaked whatever, we waited for someone - Oswald, Oswaldo, anyone? - to permanently fill his infield slot.  

Welp, nobody did. Here we are, two weeks into June, and Pablo Reyes still makes the daily Yankee pig book. For four months, MLB rosters have churned with infielders, and - before the Yankees moved Jazz Chisolm to 3B, we were said to be trying out Ben Rice there. WTF? 

I don't mean to rile the juju gods, who never react kindly to happy talk, especially about a guy who'll turn 37 next month. But here we are - first place in the AL East, but knock-kneed from being kicked in the balls by Boston - and, miracles of miracles! - DJ LeMahieu is showing a pulse. 

Yeah, it's a small sample - 69 plate appearances - and no, he's not breaking fences like Steve Balboni. But he's batting .258 - higher than everybody else in the Yankee order after Cody Bellinger. 

Over the last six games, which includes the Redsock debacle, LeMahieu is 9-for-21, including a HR. The stat geeks say he's showing career highs in exit velocity, barrel percentage and average launch angle. (In this age of digital bullshit, numbers are the new deep fake videos. You can say anything about anybody.) 

Most importantly, LeMahieu seems to be surviving the aches of returning. He doesn't have his old range at 2B, and it's notable that the Yankees didn't even try him out at 3B. Thus far, he's making the plays. He can be rested and replaced in late innings. And he might be our best hitter after No. 5 in the order.

Worst case scenario: He falls into a death spiral slump or reinjures a bread-basket - leaving us in the fidgety hands of Cooperstown Cashman, who  has blown every trade deadline in this decade. (Jordan Montgomery, Frankie Montas, et al.) Or there's Pablo Reyes.

For now, let's enjoy the return of DJ. And please, juju gods, disregard any sense of hope that might be suggested here. Say, have you folks lost weight? You look great!