Alexander Wilson
Jazz Chisholm Jr. put the number out there before the season, and even then it felt like the kind of ask the Yankees should probably let sit on the table.
The number was not small. Chisholm was looking in the range of $35 million per year for eight to 10 seasons, which puts the rough framework somewhere between $280 million and $350 million. I would not go near that. Not with this profile, not at second base, and definitely not after the way his 2026 metrics have started to bend.
The fun version of Jazz Chisholm Jr. is real. Last season, he hit .242/.332/.481 with 31 homers, 31 steals, 80 RBIs, a .813 OPS, and enough thunder to make the whole thing feel electric when he was right. His .349 wOBA and .346 xwOBA backed up a lot of the damage, and a 15.0% barrel rate gave the Yankees a real power-speed monster.
But the star-money case has taken a pretty hard hit this year. Through 81 games, Chisholm is sitting at .222/.305/.398 with a .703 OPS, 12 homers, 24 steals, 92 strikeouts, and 34 walks. The underlying stuff is even colder: .295 xwOBA, .208 xBA, .367 xSLG, and an 8.8% barrel rate after living near double that mark last year.
The Yankees should price the risk, not the personality
I like Jazz. I like the edge, the speed, the weird little chaos, the fact that he does not play like he is trying to blend into the wallpaper. The Yankees need some of that, because this roster can get a little sleepy when the big bats are not dragging everyone forward.
None of that is a $35 million player by itself. That number buys offensive certainty and more than electricity. It buys someone who can carry a lineup for months, survive ugly BABIP stretches, and still give you an on-base floor that does not make the order feel thinner than it should.
Chisholm still has bankable strengths. The walk rate is fine at 10.6%. The speed still plays, with 24 steals in 28 attempts. The defense at second base has cleaned up too, with five errors across 668 innings this season after 12 errors in 851 innings there last year. There is useful value here, and pretending otherwise would be lazy.
Second base makes the Yankees’ answer easier
The second-base part matters. The Yankees let Robinson Cano leave after 2013 rather than turn the position into a decade-long monster contract, and since then they have mostly built the spot through younger players, flexible veterans, and internal fixes.
That does not mean they should never pay a second baseman. It means the bar should be brutal. If the Yankees are going to attach franchise money to that position, the player has to be cleaner than this. Chisholm brings power, speed, and personality, but he also brings whiff trouble, some durability concern, and a production line that can look ordinary for long stretches.
A shorter deal? Sure, if the next few months look more like 2025 and the price comes back to earth. I can buy the idea of keeping a talented, athletic player who gives the Yankees something they do not have in bulk.
The $280 million to $350 million idea is where I am out. Make him prove the 2025 version is still in there for more than a hot month or two, then let the market tell him what the number really is. If another team wants to pay superstar money for this much volatility, the Yankees should wish him well and keep walking.
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