Time and time again over the past few years, the Yankees left the light on for DJ LeMahieu. 

On Wednesday, it finally blew out. 

In a move that seemed like a long time coming as a series of injuries made the former two-time batting champion a shell of himself in recent years, LeMahieu was designated for assignment on Wednesday, a day after the Yankees announced that Jazz Chisholm Jr. was moving back to second base. 

With third base being too much of a physical challenge for the soon-to-be 37-year-old — something he communicated to the team as far back as last winter, according to general manager Brian Cashman, who indicated it may have had something to do with his hip — that left LeMahieu as a bench player without much of a role whose presence limited the Yankees’ flexibility. 

And so came an unceremonious end for one of the most respected players in the Yankees clubhouse, with the club eating the roughly $22 million left on LeMahieu’s contract through next year. 

“There’s no right time to do any moves,” Cashman said. “But just felt like this probably isn’t going to be the best circumstance moving forward.” 

For now, the Yankees will have a combination of Oswald Peraza, Jorbit Vivas (recalled on Wednesday to fill LeMahieu’s spot) and possibly J.C. Escarra playing third base.

But that is only expected to be a stopgap until the Yankees can (they hope) acquire a third baseman by the July 31 trade deadline, though Cashman said he also hoped to add a starting pitcher and relief help and was not yet sure that the market would be overflowing with options. 

With the knowledge last offseason that LeMahieu was trying to avoid playing third base this year, Cashman said he tried to upgrade the position but was not able to do so.

He indicated that a free agent acquisition might have gone beyond the team’s payroll budget — their projected luxury tax payroll of $309 million ranks third in MLB — and a trade might have been too costly for what they had to give up. 

The Yankees also hoped that they could help LeMahieu get to a point where he could try playing third base again.

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But his only time there this year ended up being his first Grapefruit League game on March 1, when he got two at-bats before straining his calf (which came on top of hip, foot and toe injuries that had plagued him since late in the 2022 season). 

So when LeMahieu returned from his IL stint in May, they gave him a runway at second base to see what he had left. 

“He fought every step of the way to put himself in a position to reclaim where he was and being an everyday player,” Cashman said. “Obviously we were hopeful. … It’s kind of waiting to see what we were going to see, because it’s been the last few years of injuries, not sure where that was going to leave us. So a lot of gray area of timing, which is, when is enough time that you make a true judgement here that, ‘This is at least what it is here currently as this current roster is constructed and this is how it’s going to play, and is that in our best interest moving forward?’ ” 

By Wednesday, that situation had finally come to a head. 

Cashman and Aaron Boone both acknowledged that they could have continued down the road with LeMahieu, who they said was willing to start working at third base to see if he could become an option there.

But the end result was always likely to be the same, so after conversations Tuesday night extended into Wednesday, they finally bit the bullet and cut the veteran loose. 

“It’s been a tough couple days, some hard conversations,” Boone said. “And then ultimately coming to this decision, conclusion, obviously not easy for what’s been a great player. He has done a lot of great things for this organization. It’s difficult, but at the end we feel this is the right thing to do at this time. We wish all the best for what’s been a great player.” 

In LeMahieu’s first four years as a Yankee, he hit .296 with an .806 OPS in 470 games. Over his past three, as his body betrayed him, he hit .237 with a .665 OPS in 248 games. 

“He’s a great player, great person, he’s done great things here,” Cashman said. “Obviously the last few years have been not what he or we had hoped for, but that’s also part of the game. Injuries can change the dynamic and the equation altogether.”