The New York Yankees made a change to Jazz Chisholm Jr. during their series against the Baltimore Orioles.
On Tuesday, Chisholm was batting sixth, and on Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone moved him up in the lineup; he is now batting fifth.
The Yankees lineup on Wednesday is as follows:
- T. Grisham CF
- B. Rice DH
- L. García Jr. 1B
- H. Ramos LF
- J. Chisholm Jr. 2B
- S. Jones RF
- R. McMahon 3B
- G. Lombard Jr. SS
- A. Wells C
Chisholm is hitting .214 with 17 home runs and 48 RBIs this season, as it’s been a down year for the second baseman.
Chisholm Opens Up on Struggles
The Yankees had high expectations for Chisholm being a key part of their offense, but the second baseman has struggled this year.
Chisholm is a pending free agent and made some bold comments about what he wants this offseason. However, he may have to take a short-term prove-it deal this offseason, but Chisholm doesn’t think it is impacting him.
“I don’t think free agency has weighed on me more than just me not playing well,” Chisholm said to The Athletic. “That’s all I want to do. It doesn’t matter if it was a free-agent year or my first year in the league. I still just want to play well and play to the best of my ability. I know that’s not happening.”
However, Chisholm said he still isn’t sure how to turn it around, as he feels like he’s putting in the work and doing everything he needs to.
“If I knew, I would already have fixed the problem,” Chisholm said. “Even when I think I’m getting going hitting, it’s still an out. I’m still hitting it right at someone. I can hit it 107 (mph) and still hit it right at someone. … I probably need to dive a little bit deeper, or I might need to work a little bit less because, normally, I don’t work as much. I might have to switch it in that way.”
Chisholm does believe sitting won’t help, as he thinks he needs to play through the slump.
Yankees Manager Confident in Chisholm
As Chisholm’s slump continues, Yankees manager Aaron Boone continues to have his back.
Boone doesn’t think free agency is impacting Chisholm’s play, but despite the slump, he is confident the infielder will turn it around.
“He expects to be great,” Boone said. “But that’s part of this game. You’ve gotta handle that. Different guys say different things publicly. They’re just that. It’s a grind of a season for everyone involved. You’ve got to be able to handle all of the things, and he is. He hasn’t found that stretch of play that he’s obviously done with us the last couple of years and that he’s accustomed to and that he expects.”
With Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton out, the Yankees need Chisholm’s bat to turn it around ASAP.
Yankees Make Jazz Chisholm Jr. Change During Orioles Series