DJ LeMahieu will have a chance to earn the third base job.

If the New York Yankees are going to return to the World Series in 2025, they will probably need some of their older, injury-prone players to last through the season. DJ LeMahieu is one of those players, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone seems to like his chances.

Boone met with the media on Tuesday, the day before the Yankees’ official pitchers and catchers reporting date, where he gave a promising update on the 36-year-old two-time batting champion.

“Looks good,” Boone said, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. “He feels good. He’s ready to go.”

LeMahieu played in just 67 games last year for the Yankees, hitting .204 and compiling -0.5 fWAR. His sky-high ground ball rate (57.2%) and career-low hard-hit percentage (37.8%) were part of the problem as injuries slowed him all season.

“I’m not going to put anything past a healthy DJ LeMahieu and his ability to hit,” Boone added. “Hopefully he’s healthy. Hopefully he’s one of those guys that kind of kicks the door in and grabs it and runs with it. (We) certainly know what he’s capable of, coupled with being outstanding defensively.”

The Yankees will continue to ride with LeMahieu, partly out of necessity, as he still has two years remaining on his contract, worth $15 million per season.

DJ LeMahieu is just part of the Yankees’ third base plans

A healthy LeMahieu, hitting at whatever his best at this point in the career looks like, is probably the Yankees’ best option at third base. That doesn’t mean it’s the only option.

Boone previewed the others vying for the job, who could either steal it from LeMahieu in Spring Training or take over if and when the aging infielder gets hurt.

“Oswaldo Cabrera is going to get opportunities to really kick that door in, if you will,” Boone continued. “[Oswald] Peraza, [Jorbit] Vivas — all of those guys that you’re kind of looking for someone to step up and grab it or if it becomes a shared position, that’s possible, too. Those are some of the exciting questions that are in front of us. Hopefully we get answers to that.”

Out of those three, Cabrera is probably LeMahieu’s toughest competition. The 25-year-old switch hitter played 108 games last year, hitting .247 with eight home runs and a .661 OPS. Peraza played in only four games for the Yankees last year but hit 13 home runs for Triple-A Scranton. The Yankees seem to like Vivas, who has yet to make his Major League debut. Though he struggled in Scranton last year, he impressed the team in the spring, posting a 149 wRC+ in 15 games.