dj lemahieu has taken over as manager of the Royal Oak Leprechauns, giving the former Yankees second baseman a new baseball role in Michigan after last July’s release from New York. The move puts him back in the game while the Leprechauns prepare for their May 25 season start.
Royal Oak Leprechauns Hire LeMahieu
The Northwoods summer collegiate team said LeMahieu will keep pursuing opportunities in professional baseball, but his immediate job is clear: guide the Leprechauns in 2026 and beyond. Danny Weiss said in a statement, "DJ has been hands-on throughout the entire offseason, and that’s meant everything to our staff".
Weiss added, "As he steps into the field manager role, that same commitment carries over to the players he leads. He cares deeply about building a culture players want to be part of — and that’s going to set the standard for everything we do in 2026 and beyond."
LeMahieu’s Michigan Return
LeMahieu’s ties to the area run deeper than this hiring. He moved to Michigan as a middle schooler and became a prolific player at Brother Rice High School, and he also helped fund renovations to the Leprechauns’ home ballpark earlier this decade.
That local connection makes the job more than a short stop. It gives him a baseball home in the state where he developed as a player, even as his future in major league baseball remains an open track.
Yankees Exit And Instagram Message
The turnaround comes less than a year after New York moved on. LeMahieu was designated for assignment last July and released one day later, then hit.266 with a.674 OPS in 45 games in 2025 after three seasons in pinstripes that produced a.237 average.
His résumé still carries the peak seasons that made him one of the American League’s top vote-getters. LeMahieu finished fourth in MVP voting in 2019, third in 2020, and in the COVID-shortened 2020 season he led MLB with a.364 batting average, while also pacing the American League with a.421 on-base percentage and a 1.011 OPS.
Last Monday, LeMahieu posted on Instagram for the first time in six years and wrote, "I know it’s been a minute but just want to make sure I say thank you to the @yankees organization, all of the fans and my teammates for my time in New York," and, "I may have been three years shy of being a true ‘New Yorker,’ but New York will forever feel like home." He finished with, "I’m thankful to have been a part of some incredible moments on the field. Hoping for continued success for the boys!"
For Royal Oak, the hire lands before the season opens on May 25, and it gives the club a manager with major league credentials, local roots, and a clear link to the ballpark it already helped build.
