Sometimes, the best problems are the ones you didn’t expect to have.
The New York Yankees may have quietly stumbled into one of them — a legitimate position battle at second base. It’s not drama, but it’s definitely intrigue.
With DJ LeMahieu recently returning from injury and Jazz Chisholm ramping up quickly, the infield picture is about to get complicated in all the right ways.
Jazz Chisholm’s return could flip the script
Before suffering three oblique strains, Chisholm was off to an inconsistent start, hitting .181/.304/.410 with seven homers in 30 games.
He still managed a 104 wRC+, indicating he was slightly above league average offensively. But he was also striking out 31.2% of the time, ranking in the 5th percentile in K-rate.
His whiff rate was even worse, sitting in the 3rd percentile — a troubling combination for any hitter. The upside, though? He was barreling the ball well and flashing game-changing athleticism at second base.
Defensively, he recorded three outs above average and offered range and speed that can’t be taught. The Yankees need that energy up the middle, especially in tight, late-season games.
DJ LeMahieu is quietly heating up
Meanwhile, LeMahieu is playing like someone not quite ready to give up his spot.
He went 3-for-4 against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, raising his average to .269 with a .345 OBP and .385 slugging.
More importantly, he’s showing advanced power metrics for the first time in a while. LeMahieu ranks above average in average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, whiff rate, and strikeout rate.
His walk rate sits at 12.5% — a nod to his excellent plate discipline. And while the Rockies may not be the best barometer of performance, it’s still encouraging to see signs of life.
Defensively, he’s been solid, and his experience at third base gives the Yankees important flexibility moving forward.
The most logical solution for the infield shuffle
This isn’t a case of one guy winning and another losing. It’s about leveraging strengths.
Chisholm belongs at second base. His range, athleticism, and glove play make him too valuable to push to third, especially with his metrics climbing on defense.
LeMahieu, now 36, fits better at third — where range is less critical and reaction time is more about instinct than burst.
He’s played plenty of hot corner innings, and with his bat starting to warm, he could be exactly what the Yankees need to stabilize the position vacated by Oswaldo Cabrera’s injury.
A good problem with the right solution
If the Yankees are lucky, both players continue trending up. That’s when this situation becomes less of a “battle” and more of a blueprint.
Chisholm commands the keystone. LeMahieu handles third. The lineup gets deeper, the defense tighter, and the infield suddenly looks like one of the more stable units in baseball.
That’s a luxury few contenders can say they have.
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