The New York Yankees made a decision on Monday that appeared to be a knock against Jazz Chisholm Jr.
And maybe on paper, it did signal the Yanks’ lack of enthusiasm about the free agent second baseman. But the choice actually did something else, too: It helped Chisholm’s chances on the open market.
The decision the Yankees made was to not offer Chisholm a $23.15 million qualifying offer to play for them in 2027.
We’ll explain here why that’s actually good news for Chisholm.
Why No Qualifying Offer Helps Jazz Chisholm Jr.
The reality is that a qualifying offer comes tied in to draft pick compensation. Any player who is extended the qualifying offer but declines it then costs a new team a draft pick to the former team after a free agent signing.
So if the Yankees had offered Chisholm the ‘QO’ but had it declined, it would’ve then cost any team signing Chisholm a draft pick to bring him aboard.
That’s the kind of thing that can certainly sink a player’s value.
“I think a make-good deal to reenter the market on a better note next winter is best for all parties, but Chisholm has done enough to get a two-year contract with an opt-out as protection in case he has another tough year; two seasons at the qualifying offer total each year feels about right,” ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel wrote in a new article on Tuesday. “The Yankees opted against offering the QO, which helps Chisholm Jr.’s market particularly for a short-term deal (teams don’t want to give up a pick for a short deal).”
Chisholm is a potentially valuable player, but there are a lot of divisive opinions on just how much he should end up with in free agency, too.
“Chisholm has been inconsistent and frustrating to some, but he has also put up 3.5 to 4.3 WAR figures during the past three seasons, even as his batting average dipped to .231 this year,” McDaniel writes. “His WAR totals are because his baserunning (by run value) is top 10 in the league, and his defensive contributions (position and quality) are top 20 in the league. Throw in a bit of ball-in-play luck and an offensive regression, and it still adds up to a clearly above-average every-day player per WAR.”
Why Yankees Don’t Want Jazz Chisholm
McDaniel also summed up the reality for the Yankees, who simply don’t seem to want Jazz back.
“Extending the qualifying offer (a one-year, $23.15 million deal) would have seemed easy on paper, but it’s unclear how much enthusiasm the Yankees have for Chisholm, and I’m also not sure how much other teams will be pounding the table, as baserunning-and-defensive-heavy WAR totals often don’t get paid in free agency, and on top of that, his xwOBA was a career worst,” McDaniel writes.
McDaniel’s last line is the simplest: “The Yankees weren’t too keen on bringing him back.”
At least for Chisholm’s sake there was no qualifying offer. That should help him in free agency.
Yankees Helped Jazz Chisholm By Not Offering $23.15 Million Contract