Jazz Chisholm at Third? Wait!!!
- E.J. Fagan
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
by EJ Fagan
June 1, 2025
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NOTE: The following comes from EJ Fagan's substack page and is shared with permission. This was published a few days ago so the stats don't include the last few games.
Please check out EJ's substack page for more great articles.
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Jazz Chisholm is starting rehab games. But, all indications are that he will come back as a third baseman. Here’s Chisholm via MLB Trade Rumors:
“That’s what I’ve heard so far,” he replied when asked if he expects to be a full-time third baseman. “(Boone) gave me the choice, but he told me that he really wanted me at third base. I’m a team guy. I’m here to win a ring. I’m not here to fight over positions and all that.”
To his credit, Chisholm is saying the right thing. He didn’t go pull a Rafael Devers and throw a tantrum about the position change. Chisholm played 2nd base exclusively in Spring Training and before he got injured, talked about how comfortable he felt there, and looked incredible. His athleticism was evident at 3rd last year, but so was his inexperience at the position.
What the heck is going on?
I guess we can point to two things that changed since Chisholm’s injury:
Oswaldo Cabrera is out for the season.
DJ LeMahieu returned at second base and looked fine.
So I guess the plan is to play LeMahieu at 2nd, platooning with Jorbit Vivas, and Chisholm at 3rd. But the plan makes no sense.
Let’s start with LeMahieu. After a few goods games to start his 2025 season, LeMahieu has gone into a deep slump:
He’s hitting the ball harder than last year, but has lost his plate discipline and contact skills along with his defense and athleticism.
I was willing to give LeMahieu a shot when he came back, especially with Peraza and Vivas playing so poorly. But the results so far have been discouraging. He’s playing like a 36 year old on his last legs. We’re getting close to the point where the sample is big enough to conclude that he is cooked. Oswald Peraza has been disappointing, but also clearly better.
But even if you wanted to keep LeMahieu a longer audition, why second base? LeMahieu had played only nine games at second base from 2023-2025, and always had good defensive numbers at third. Chisholm is clearly the superior defender at the second, and I think LeMahieu might be better than Chisholm at third.
Before I get negative, let’s give the Yankees the benefit of the doubt. What could their logic be? Here’s everything that I can think of.
Jorbit Vivas is better at second, so a LeMahieu-Vivas platoon makes more sense there.
They plan to platoon Chisholm as well and Peraza has been better at third.
They want some versatility at the trade deadline and can always move Chisholm back to second.
They think that their overall infield is strongest with with LeMahieu at second.
They think that moving DJ LeMahieu to another position will interrupt his rhythm.
None of these make much sense to me. Chisholm isn’t going to platoon much. If they were really eager for him to play 3rd, even a little bit, they could have done so before this week. And moving around the infield has been LeMahieu’s entire deal ever since he was acquired by the Yankees.
I think the only explanation here is that DJ LeMahieu is the incumbent second baseman, has seniority, and Aaron Boone is deferring to his veteran. Chisholm, being a team-first guy, didn’t make a stink.
It’s an insane way to manage a baseball team. Jazz Chisholm isn’t some unproven major league rookie. He’s a well established second baseman in the prime of his career. DJ LeMahieu is a molasses-slow aging dinosaur who would struggle to get a major league contract if he were a free agent tomorrow. The Yankees are worse off.
So yeah, we’re looking at another loser move from Aaron Boone and the Yankees. LeMahieu will probably be just barely playable enough to freeze everything in place for a few more months. Oswald Peraza, who is at least as good as LeMahieu, more athletic and still has some theoretical upside, will ride the bench again. Nice job, everyone.
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