It has been a whirlwind 48 hours for Jazz Chisholm Jr. He was traded from the Miami Marlins to the New York Yankees on Saturday, then he hopped on a plane and flew from Milwaukee to Boston to join the Yankees for Sunday night’s game against the Red Sox. After that game, Chisholm and the Yankees flew to Philadelphia for a series against the Phillies.
Despite all the travel, it did not take Chisholm long to get on the board with the Yankees. He picked up his first hit and stolen base in pinstripes on Sunday night. Then, on Monday, Chisholm clocked his first home run with New York, an opposite field solo shot against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (NY 14, PHI 4). This ball just kept carrying and carrying:
Chisholm added a second homer later in the game, albeit against a position player pitcher (Garrett Stubbs). Monday’s homers are his 14th and 15th of the season. He hit .249/.323/.407 with 22 steals in 101 games with the Marlins before the trade.
It should be noted Chisholm made his first career start at third base Monday. His two primary positions are second base and center field, but the Yankees are set there with Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge, so Chisholm is giving third base a try. He started a slick 5-4-3 double play in his first chance at the hot corner.
“I mean, I went out there and played center field for the first time last year and I felt like it was pretty difficult at first,” Chisholm said about playing third base (via the New York Daily News). “But I just feel like I could go and play anywhere and help my team win. For me, it’s just going somewhere — especially a winning team — and they’re asking me to go somewhere to help them win? I’m definitely gonna go out there and do it.”
It would be difficult for Chisholm to be a downgrade at third. New York’s third basemen — DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera, primarily — are hitting .231/.292/.318 with eight homers and 0.0 WAR. The Yankees are said to be in the market for another bat, so it’s possible Chisholm will wind up elsewhere if a new third baseman is brought in before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline.
With the blowout win over the Phillies, the Yankees own a 63-45 record and are in second place in the AL East.
