Yankees close to being ready to sending DJ LeMahieu on rehab assignment

CLEVELAND — DJ LeMahieu appears on the cusp of being sent out on a rehab assignment.

“He’s getting close,” Aaron Boone said Saturday morning before the Yankees swept the Guardians, 3-2 and 8-2, in a split doubleheader at Progressive Field.

LeMahieu, who started the season on the injured list with a non-displaced fracture on top of his right foot — the result of fouling a ball off the foot during a spring training game March 16 — is traveling with the team on the current six-game trip.

LeMahieu, who recently has taken grounders without pain or discomfort, went through a day of baseball activities Friday at Progressive Field. (Friday’s game was rained out, but most of the roster came to the ballpark to work out, hit and throw.)

“It’s been encouraging,” Boone said. “Even just the other day at the Stadium, [before] that last game against Miami [ on Wednesday], watching him take ground balls and swing the bat, he looks good. I think it’s feeling really good, so I know he’s starting to chomp at the bit a little bit to be ready to go in some games. It’s been encouraging his last couple of weeks.”

Boone said LeMahieu has cleared most of the hurdles necessary to be declared ready for a rehab assignment in the minors.

“I think it’s just continuing to do it on [a daily basis],’’ Boone said, “getting that next level of being able to cut real well and things like that when he’s running.”   

Gil plans

Luis Gil was the pitcher affected most by Friday’s rainout. The righthander initially was scheduled to start Saturday, but with the Yankees facing a doubleheader, Clarke Schmidt, Friday’s scheduled starter, pitched the first game and Cody Poteet was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to serve as the club’s “27th man” to start the second game.

Boone said Gil would be available out of the bullpen Saturday for either game, but he was not needed. He now is scheduled to pitch on Monday against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Gil, whose electric final three starts of spring training won him the fifth starter job, has a 3.00 ERA in two starts. 

Roster doings

The Yankees made a flurry of moves after the first game of the doubleheader. In addition to placing infielder Jon Berti on the injured list with a left groin strain, they recalled righthander Ron Marinaccio from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, signed infielder Kevin Smith to a major-league contract and added him to the active roster, designated lefthander Josh Maciejewski for assignment, outrighted lefthander Clayton Andrews off the major-league roster and onto the roster of Triple-A Scranton, and reinstated righthander McKinley Moore from the 15-day IL and optioned him to Scranton.  

Kahnle latest

Righthanded reliever Tommy Kahnle, out since the start of the season with right shoulder inflammation, threw a bullpen session Thursday.

“Sounds like it went well,” said Boone, who added that he did not know when Kahnle will be deemed ready for rehab games.