Yankees' acquisition of Jazz Chisholm Jr. accompanied by a sense of optimism (and a win over Red Sox)
Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees has a laugh with his new teammates in the dugout before their game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on July 28, 2024 in Boston. Credit: Getty Images/Winslow Townson
BOSTON — How anxious were the Yankees to unleash the newly acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. in Sunday night’s series finale at Fenway Park?
His name appeared on the lineup card long before he arrived at the stadium. Turns out, his plane had to circle Boston’s Logan Airport for an extra hour because of air traffic and he encountered even more traffic on the drive to Fenway. He couldn’t wait to walk through the door.
“I was super-excited,” Chisholm said late Sunday night after the Yankees’ 8-2 victory over the Red Sox. “Every kid dreams of being a Yankee. It’s the most famous team in baseball. Derek Jeter played on it, you know what I mean? Everybody’s favorite player was Derek Jeter growing up. So I feel like it was only right to come here and put on the uniform.”
The big-energy, high-motor Chisholm indeed came in hot to this rivalry — “It was sick today. It’s actually my first time being part of a crowd like that,” he said — starting in centerfield and batting fifth behind Austin Wells, stretching the Yankees’ lineup to a place it hadn’t been in a while.
When Chisholm finally did get to the plate Sunday night — wearing Alex Rodriguez’s old No. 13 — it took him until the ninth inning to make an impact. But some of that jolt put a momentary scare into the Yankees in an otherwise breezy win.
After an infield single snapped his 0-for-4, Chisholm took an awkward fall while hustling to second on a groundout, taking an elbow to the jaw. He was checked out and stayed in the game, then seemed OK while stealing third and trotting home on DJ LeMahieu’s sacrifice fly.
“Everybody was picking me up today,” he said. “So my last at-bat, I really wanted to go out there and do something for the guys.”
With that crisis averted, the Yankees could truly celebrate. Carlos Rodon pitched a second straight gem, allowing two runs and striking out seven in 6 1⁄3 innings. After allowing back-to-back homers by Rob Refsnyder and Connor Wong and a triple by Rafael Devers to begin the fourth, he sandwiched two strikeouts around a grounder to preserve the Yankees’ 4-2 lead.
The Yankees again generated offense throughout the lineup — they had 26 runs, 40 hits and 15 walks in the three games — to win a series for the second time in seven weeks.
After Saturday’s win featured six lead changes, the Yankees jumped ahead 3-0 in the first inning — spurred by Aaron Judge’s single for his 96th RBI and Gleyber Torres’ two-out, two-run single — and were never caught.
Oswaldo Cabrera, whose playing time at third base is about to evaporate with Chisholm’s entrance, delivered a two-run double. Wells and Ben Rice each had a sacrifice fly. And now the Yankees get ready to welcome back Giancarlo Stanton to the lineup for Monday’s series opener in Philadelphia.
“I think you can start to dream on what our lineup could be, and the length of it,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Hopefully getting back to that and more complete. But I feel like a lot of guys are trending in a good way.”
The arrival of Chisholm should immediately flip the narrative that has haunted these Yankees since their 10-23 malaise began on June 15: the curse of the two-man lineup, propelled by Judge and Juan Soto with seven easy outs surrounding them.
Chisholm isn’t going to do it alone. But what he does bring is a power-speed combination that can be dangerous in a variety of ways, including as a catalyst to the rest of the lineup. Now that the Yankees have him in the building, the next order of business is figuring out how to best deploy him on a daily basis.
Boone said before Sunday’s game that he put Chisholm in centerfield to help him quickly adjust in his familiar spot, but the plan is for him to slide over to third base Monday against the Phillies. It will be his major-league debut at the position, but Chisholm didn’t flinch at the manager’s request.
“I went out there and played centerfield for the first time last year,” he said. “It was pretty difficult at first, but I just feel I could go play anywhere and help my team win. Especially for a winning team, and they asked me to go somewhere to help them win, I’m definitely going to go out there and do it.”
Compare that with Torres’ response to the same question. When Boone approached him about playing some third base — or at least doing some side work there — he wasn’t quite as receptive. Asked if he plans to stay at his regular position the rest of the way, he replied, “Yeah, second base.”
Chisholm has zero experience at third, too. But he is a former shortstop, and of the two second basemen, Boone believes that Chisholm’s athleticism will make for a smoother transition. Also, now that Torres has come around at the plate, that makes Boone more reluctant to mess with him.
But there’s still time to do more roster tinkering before Tuesday’s trade deadline, and Torres’ name certainly is involved in those discussions. The Yankees reportedly were among the clubs pursuing Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes before he was dealt to the Cubs on Sunday, so you get the idea that Torres — a pending free agent — could be getting even closer to the door.
Here’s another positive development that Chisholm’s presence brings: a much-needed infusion of accountability. The days of doling out playing time based on seniority, contracts and previous resumes should be kaput, once and for all.
It’s got to be all about winning now, first and foremost. And Chisholm is firmly on board with that.
“I found out that I was going to go to a contending team that was fighting for first place, fighting for a playoff spot,” he said. “I mean, I’m excited to play in October for the Yankees.”
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
