The Yankees pulled the plug on The Machine, designating DJ LeMahieu for assignment on Wednesday. The two-time batting champ, still owed about $22 million through next season, was then released on Thursday.

Aaron Judge said he was fine after an across-the-field throw struck him in the face, leaving the Yankees captain with a cut next to his right eye.

Though DJ LeMahieu was one of the quietest players in the Yankees' clubhouse — in public, with the media and, to a lesser degree, with his teammates — no one commanded more respect among his peers.