Getty Yankees potential trade target Jazz Chisholm
The Athletic baseball writer Levi Weaver was surely being tongue-in-cheek this week when writing that Marlins star Jazz Chisholm, “sounds like Yankees bait to me.” But then, perhaps Weaver was being quite serious, given the Yankees‘ needs.
The Yankees, after all, have a struggling second baseman on their hands with Gleyber Torres, whose shoddy defense, poor hitting and failure to run out ground balls (albeit perhaps because of an injury) has been irritating to fans and fellow Yankees alike.
They have a lack of outfield depth, too, with due respect to the .157-hitting Trent Grisham. Both Juan Soto and Aaron Judge rank in the Top 15 in MLB when it comes to plate appearances, which is obviously because of the overwhelming talent of the pair of Yankees slugger. But, to an extent, it is also a testament to the Yankees’ failure to provide the kind of depth that allows them to give the two a day off.
And, though this was not the case at the time of Weaver’s writing, the Yankees also are in crisis at the top of the order, with shortstop Anthony Volpe demoted to sixth on Thursday’s game and his status as the leadoff man going forward in question.
How many second-basemen-outfielder-leadoff combo guys are out there, available on the MLB trade deadline market? Not many. But Chisholm is. Yankees bait, indeed.
Yankees Need Versatility at Trade Deadline
In fact, Chisholm is widely considered among the most likely players in MLB to be traded in the coming weeks, as the Marlins look to tear down the current roster—whatever spare parts might be useful, at least—and add future prospects.
Wrote Weaver, in full context: “Who needs a second baseman with good speed (he’s in the 83rd percentile), who can also fill in at shortstop and center field when needed? That sounds like Yankees bait to me — with Gleyber Torres struggling this year, Chisholm could slide in there, and occasionally spell Aaron Judge in center field.
“He’s also under control through 2026, but if the Marlins are planning on a quick turnaround, that might be more of an impediment to a trade than an accelerator.
“I’m not alone in thinking this. In a recent survey of front office executives, Bowden found Chisholm to be the most popular answer when it came to ‘position players most likely to be traded.’”
Jazz Chisholm Has Been an OF for 2 Seasons
Chisholm is 26 and in his sixth season with the Marlins. He was an All-Star in 2022, when he hit .254 with a .325 on-base percentage and a .535 slugging percentage, knocking 14 homes in 60 games. That was also the last time he played second base–he has been an outfielder and DH since then.
That season was cut short by a back injury that cost him most of the second half of the year. He struggled with health in 2023, playing 97 games and knocking 19 home runs. Chisholm had toe surgery last offseason.
He has been healthy this year, playing 83 of the team’s 86 games, though his bat has been slow to come around. He is hitting .259 with a .323 on-base percentage, racking up an eye-opening 88 strikeouts in 344 plate appearances.
In his last 19 games, Chisholm has hit .294 with a .347 on-base percentage, the kind of production the Yankees would need to warrant a deadline trade for him.