When the New York Yankees were looking to add a spark to their lineup ahead of the trade deadline last July, they landed on Miami Marlins star, Jazz Chisholm Jr.
The transition was not going to be an easy one as the Yankees had him doing something he had never done in his career — play third base.
A versatile defender, he had spent time at second base, shortstop and center field.
Manning the hot corner was something foreign to him, but he took the challenge head-on to help put the team in the best position to win.
The position change was necessitated by the presence of Gleyber Torres at second base, who had no interest in changing positions.
With Torres moving on in free agency, signing a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers, it will be Chisholm manning the keystone for New York.
At least, that is the plan for manager Aaron Boone right now, who admitted things could change. Of course, that change would be a shift back to third base if DJ LeMahieu struggles enough in spring training and the duo of Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza don’t prove capable of handling the job.
In an ideal world, Chisholm will be the double play partner for Anthony Volpe up the middle.
However, it isn’t his glove that the Yankees are counting on most. They need him to continue producing at the impressive clip he has since being acquired from the Marlins to help offset the loss of Juan Soto in free agency.
His bat is as big of a reason as any that MLB insider Buster Olney of ESPN placed him at No. 10 in his second base positional rankings heading into the 2025 campaign.
The positional versatility that he provides is certainly nice for Boone, as he can mix and match his lineup knowing Chisholm can adequately handle four different spots. But it is his dynamic offensive skill set that the team is most excited about.
He has a rare blend of power and speed that was on full display in his first 46 games as a member of the team.
Chisholm had a slash line of .273/.325/.500, hitting 11 home runs with 18 stolen bases, getting caught only twice. He had a WAR of 1.5, producing more with New York than he did in 101 games with Miami.
Extrapolated over the course of an entire season and he was on base to shatter his previous career highs.
Keeping up that pace is something the Yankees would love to see and would have him moving in the right direction of Olney’s positional rankings in the future as well.