NEW YORK (AP) — DJ LeMahieu’s batting average has dropped to .177, less than half the .364 mark he had when he won his second batting title in 2020.

“It’s not something I’m used to,” he said Sunday. “Personally, it’s not that fun.”

Hitless in 17 at-bats, LeMahieu was not in the New York Yankees’ starting lineup for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Fans have booed him in recent days.

“Just frustrating,” he said. “It just hasn’t been very consistent. I feel like I’m on something and then I kind of go backwards.”

LeMahieu, a three-time All-Star, turned 36 on July 13. He had struggled after suffering a fractured sesamoid bone in his right big toe, which led to ligament damage in his second toe in 2022. He batted .220 in the first half of last year but .273 in the second. Then he broke his right foot fouling out of a spring training game on March 16, delaying his season debut until May 28.

He has three doubles, no home runs and 11 RBIs in 124 plate appearances and his ground ball percentage is a personal best at 59.2%, up from 52% in his last healthy season in 2021.

“Feel good,” he said. “Feel good enough to do my job.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone started Oswaldo Cabrera at third base on Sunday and was unsure whether to give LeMahieu additional days off.

“He’s such a professional and has obviously been a good hitter over the course of his career, over the course of his life, and a very mentally and physically strong guy, so I feel like he’s equipped to handle things and deal with things,” Boone said.

LeMahieu led the Major Leagues in hitting with Colorado in 2016 and again with the Yankees in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He is a career .290 hitter with a .763 OPS, making his drop to a .471 OPS this year all the more shocking.

He has two full seasons left on a $90 million, six-year contract that pays $15 million annually, and New York could make a move to add a third baseman before the July 30 trade deadline.

“I’m not going to talk about that,” LeMahieu said. “I definitely want to add as many good players as I can.”

His average was already as low as .206 before the slump, which took a toll on his confidence.

“It hasn’t given me much hope the last month or so, but as long as I’ve been playing this game, no matter what challenge has presented itself, I’ve always come out of it somehow,” he said. “So I just keep showing up, keep working and that’s brought me a lot of success.”