LeMahieu brings veteran versatility to Yankees

TAMPA, Fla. -- A few days into his Yankees tenure, DJ LeMahieu looked around the clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field, marveling at the roster depth surrounding him. It reminded the veteran of the stacked powerhouse that his Rockies chased in the National League West over the past two seasons.

"Playing against a team like the Dodgers, you could see how much depth they had," LeMahieu said. "With Colorado, we were looking over at them like, 'Man, this team is fresh.' That team had guys that can play a lot of positions, a lot of guys that hit in different spots in the order. To me, they were ready for the playoffs; their whole season was geared toward October."

Los Angeles rode that roster to back-to-back pennants, and LeMahieu expects to be on the flip side of that coin now, offering valuable flexibility to a club that arguably improved more than any other American League squad this past offseason.

The 30-year-old owns a batting title and three Gold Glove Awards from his time manning second base with the Rockies. Yet with Troy Tulowitzki aiming to hold down shortstop until Didi Gregorius' expected return and Gleyber Torres continuing to take reps at second base, manager Aaron Boone said that his working plan is to have LeMahieu see time at all four infield positions.

"From what I've seen in his work, I think he'll transition well and I think he's going to be a good defender wherever we put him," Boone said. "I do think it's important for him to get his reps at third."