CLEVELAND — DJ LeMahieu is almost ready to graduate to rehab games.
The Yankees’ veteran third baseman, who has been sidelined since the middle of March with a non-displaced fracture in his right foot, has made enough progress over the past week that he appears to be nearing a rehab assignment.
“DJ’s doing really well,” manager Aaron Boone said Saturday before a doubleheader at Progressive Field. “He’s getting close. It’s been encouraging. Even just the other day [Wednesday] at the stadium on that last game against Miami, watching him take ground balls and swing the bat, he looks good and I think is feeling really good. I know he’s starting to [champ] at the bit a little bit to be ready to go in some games. It’s been encouraging his last couple weeks.”
LeMahieu made the trip here with the Yankees to continue ramping up his workload, and was part of the group that came to Progressive Field on Friday to work out despite the rainout.
“He seems close, to me, to being able to get into some rehab games,” Boone said. “Hopefully that’s coming soon.”
Boone has said the biggest challenge for LeMahieu would be lateral movement, though he recently began introducing some of that in his running progression.
“I think it’s just continuing to do it on the daily and getting that next level of being able to cut real well and things like that well when he’s running,” Boone said.
As for how many rehab games LeMahieu would need before being ready to join the Yankees, Boone said that would largely be up to the training staff.
The 35-year-old got 29 plate appearances in spring training before fouling a ball off his foot on March 16, though he has not played in a game since then.
“The biggest thing will be being able to handle a back-to-back and how does he bounce back from playing in five, seven or nine innings?” Boone said.
Gerrit Cole (elbow nerve inflammation) played catch for a second time on Thursday in The Bronx and it went well, Boone said.
The Yankees ace is expected to throw again this weekend. … Tommy Kahnle (shoulder) threw a bullpen session on Friday in Tampa that “sounds like it went well,” Boone said.
Luis Gil was available out of the bullpen for Saturday’s doubleheader.
The right-hander was initially scheduled to start on Saturday, but after Friday’s game was postponed and set up a twin bill on Saturday, the Yankees opted to call up Cody Poteet to start Game 2.
With six games in five days, the Yankees were going to need an extra starter at some point during this stretch.
This way, Poteet can be the 27th man with Gil serving as an extra arm out of the bullpen either for length or in a “big inning,” Boone said.
If Gil was not needed Saturday, he would likely start Monday’s series opener in Toronto.
If he does pitch Saturday, he could slot back into the rotation by Wednesday’s series finale against the Blue Jays.
