The New York Yankees must decide whether to extend Jazz Chisholm Jr. a $23.1 million qualifying offer, a raise of about 126% over his $10.2 million salary, according to Spotrac‘s contract page for Chisholm.
The qualifying offer number is not yet official. MLB and the Players Association have not formally announced it, but a source told the New York Post it will climb from $22.03 million last winter to roughly $23.1 million, according to the Post‘s Joel Sherman. Teams have five days after the World Series ends to extend the qualifying offers to eligible players entering free agency.
Chisholm is a pending free agent after the one-year deal he signed Jan. 8 to avoid arbitration. The Yankees must now decide whether to make the offer available to Chisholm.
If a team extends a qualifying offer to a pending free agent who then rejects it, the team receives a compensatory draft pick if the player signs elsewhere. That makes players more difficult to sign, because the signing team loses a draft pick.
But if the player accepts the qualifying offer, the team is stuck paying him a one-year salary it may not feel the player is worth. Either way, the qualifying offer represents a gamble for both player and club.
Yankees Weigh Jazz Chisholm Jr. Qualifying Offer
Chisholm slashed .231/.312/.399 with 19 home runs, 55 RBIs and 41 stolen bases in the regular season, according to Baseball-Reference‘s player page. Those are his lowest average, slugging percentage and OPS in a full season. A right thumb sprain put him on the injured list from Sept. 9 to Sept. 22, and his 1.7 bWAR trails the 4.1 he posted in 2025, when he hit 31 homers and won a Silver Slugger.
Chisholm struck out in 29.5% of his plate appearances, according to Baseball-Reference. Heyman wrote that he was benched in Game 1 for Anthony Volpe.
MLB insider Jon Heyman doesn’t see the qualifying offer as a given for Chisholm. His down year and Chisholm’s wild-card series Game 1 benching against Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle mean the roughly $23 million bid is no longer a lock, Heyman wrote.
Others see the Chisholm decision differently.
“A team with the Yankees’ resources should absolutely extend him the qualifying offer,” The Athletic‘s Tim Britton opined.
MLB Trade Rumors calls Chisholm a qualifying-offer candidate, but not a sure receive-and-reject case like Pittsburgh’s Brandon Lowe. Most expert opinion points toward an offer going out to the second baseman.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. Free Agent Value Estimate
Would Chisholm make more than $23.1 million next year in free agency? Britton projects multi-year interest, probably four years at $20 million to $25 million per season. He cited Trevor Story’s six-year, $140 million contract as a comparable.
Chisholm has said he believes he would command $35 million a year for seven or eight years, Heyman reported, and he aimed to become the second 50-homer, 50-steal player.
That didn’t happen. Talk of a $300 million deal is gone, but a contract comfortably above $100 million remains possible, especially if Chisholm’s October goes well, according to MLB.com‘s Mark Feinsand. But his career postseason line entering this round was .170 with a .543 OPS in 24 games.
Chisholm has said he wants to remain a Yankee. He has also asked what happens to qualifying-offer money if he accepts and a lockout wipes out the season, according to Pinstripes Nation. He added that the club told him it generally does not do extensions. The MLB Basic Agreement expires Dec. 1, 2026.
Yankees Face $23.1 Million Jazz Chisholm Jr. Decision After Season