He played all or parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees (1980), San Diego Padres (1981–83) and Philadelphia Phillies (1983–84 and 1986), primarily as an outfielder.

The Yankees had lost regular center fielder Ruppert Jones to injury, and Lefebvre was summoned from the minor leagues to replace him.

Lefebvre continued to start on and off for the next few weeks, playing both right and left field, sharing time in the outfield with Reggie Jackson and Bobby Murcer.

Although he often sat against left-handed pitchers in favor of Dave Edwards, Lefebvre played in 86 games, batting .256 with 8 home runs and 31 RBI.

[9] The Phillies used him as something of a super-sub after his acquisition, as he started a number of games in both corner outfield positions and at third base, backing up Gary Matthews, Von Hayes, and Mike Schmidt.

In August, he supplanted Hayes as the starting right fielder, and he finished with his best season statistically, batting .306 with a career-high 39 RBI along with 8 home runs, as the Phillies won the National League East.

Against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1983 National League Championship Series, however, he found himself on the bench behind Lezcano, who had been acquired from the Padres on August 31.

The Phillies faced left-handed starters, Jerry Reuss and Fernando Valenzuela, in three of the four games, and Lefebvre wound up batting just three times in the series, driving in one run with a sacrifice fly.

A similar situation developed in the World Series, as the Baltimore Orioles sent southpaws Scott McGregor and Mike Flanagan to the mound in three of the five games.

Lefebvre began the 1984 season as part of a right field platoon with Lezcano, getting the lion's share of the playing time as a left-handed hitter.