DJ LeMahieu is moving from the Yankees’ infield to the dugout in Michigan. The Royal Oak Leprechauns said this week they hired him as manager of the Northwoods summer collegiate baseball team, even as he continues to pursue opportunities in professional baseball.
The hire brings LeMahieu back to a place that helped shape his baseball life. He moved to Michigan as a middle schooler and later became a prolific player at Brother Rice High School, then returned earlier this decade to help fund renovations to the Leprechauns’ home ballpark. Team manager Danny Weiss said LeMahieu has been hands-on throughout the offseason, a level of involvement Weiss said meant everything to the staff.
For the Leprechauns, the timing matters because their season starts May 25. For LeMahieu, it marks a new role after a long run in pinstripes ended with his designation for assignment by the Yankees last July, followed by his official release one day later. He posted on Instagram last Monday for the first time in six years to thank the Yankees organization, fans and teammates, writing that he was grateful for the moments he had in New York and that, even if he was three years shy of being a true New Yorker, the city would forever feel like home. He closed by hoping for continued success for the boys.
LeMahieu’s final numbers in New York help explain the shift. In 2025, he hit.266 with a.674 OPS in 45 games, and over his last three seasons in pinstripes he hit.237. That decline came after a peak that made him one of the most productive hitters in the league: he finished fourth in American League MVP voting in 2019 and third in 2020, when he led MLB with a.364 average and paced the AL with a.421 on-base percentage and 1.011 OPS. He was also the kind of player who kept the game simple and relentless, which is part of what made his return to a summer-league bench feel plausible rather than symbolic.
Weiss said the commitment LeMahieu showed around the ballpark carries into the way he will lead players in 2026 and beyond, with the standard set by culture as much as by lineup cards. The Leprechauns are betting that the same presence that once helped their ballpark get better can now help shape the clubhouse. What remains to be seen is how often LeMahieu will be around that clubhouse as he keeps chasing professional opportunities at the same time.