Brian Cashman called last year’s Yankees a “disaster,” so if this season follows the same path as the past month-plus, the general manager will have to reach into the thesaurus and find a word even bigger than disaster.
Because the stakes are so much higher: the largest payroll in franchise history. The acquisition of Juan Soto for his one guaranteed season in pinstripes. And another year of Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge’s primes. And, of course, last year’s “disaster” that was sold by ownership and below as a blip that would be quickly corrected is so recent.
How on earth will this regime, including Aaron Boone, survive if they’re in the midst of bringing on us Disaster Part II: An Even Bigger Sequel? The Yankees went 10-23 over six weeks after starting the season with an MLB-best 50-22 record. As of Saturday, they were just two games out of first place and in the wild-card position, but just 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.
So this could be the most important trade deadline of Cashman’s career, and he kicked it off with an offseason feel by acquiring another extremely talented player with plenty of question marks in Jazz Chisholm.
On paper, Chisholm is young and explosive, a clear need for a Yankees team that too often runs the bases like a limping turtle. He has stolen 22 bases this season, eight in July, the same number of stolen bases the Yankees have had since June 13. He has 13 home runs as a lefty hitter, and when he’s on his game the ball really flies off the bat, so his power could be on display at Yankee Stadium. Chisholm can play second and center field, but he has a strong personality and style that sometimes trumps his ability.
He joins Trent Grisham, Marcus Stroman and Alex Verdugo, who came to New York last offseason with questions ranging from effort to temperament after the Yankees went through Josh Donaldson. Executives who know Chisholm said his play was inconsistent, with highs and lows and he always needed a manager with the Marlins, but New York’s intensifying pennant race and veteran teammates might help. But Chisholm openly clashed with Miguel Rojas, the Marlins’ most veteran teammate, about his leadership style after the infielder’s departure.
Clearly, in this predicament, the Yankees are either going to fully respect how a player looks on graph paper, or they’re going to decide that it’s the talent of the player that matters. But they can’t. There’s word around the industry that the Yankees are actively pursuing players, with the ideal deadline being at least two hitters (one out) and two relief pitchers. With Chisholm on the roster, they could use Grisham or Gleyber Torres to find a relief pitcher.
The Marlins player who seemed the best fit for the Yankees was Tanner Scott, not Chisholm.
Scott is a risk. Other than last year’s 84-78 Marlins (where Scott pitched one scoreless inning in the postseason), he’s only played for bad teams in small baseball markets (Baltimore/Miami). Plus, when he’s not playing well, he walks a lot. So Scott will be a free agent at the end of the season, and while he’s highly sought after on the market, he’ll be expensive, but with the potential for a disturbing culture shock and a ton of walks.
But the Yankees pitching staff is desperate for a late-inning left-hander who can get hitters off the ground. Scott’s strikeout rate is 29.1%, but his walk rate is 14.8% (sixth-highest among relievers who have thrown 30 innings). But Scott has allowed a run just once in his last 31 starts (0.55 ERA), and in that time his strikeout rate has risen to 33.9% and his walk rate has fallen to 11.6%. And in his last 24 starts, his strikeout rates are 35.2% and 9.9%.
If Chisholm is the only trade the Marlins make, the Yankees will have to find a relief pitcher elsewhere. They need to find another reliable pitcher who can pitch late and minimize the struggling Clay Holmes. They could get some internal reinforcements if Ian Hamilton returns, or maybe Scott Efros or Lou Trivino could join. The Yankees may be dipping their toes in the starting pitching market, having heard they have inquired about Jack Flaherty from Detroit. Could they add to the mix and move Luis Gil’s long arm to relief to slow his innings? It seems risky, even though Gil could be their best starter again and they could always move Gil into September if Clark Schmidt returns.
Offensively, even if they move Torres and put Chisholm at second base, they could still add a player like the Angels’ Luis Rengifo, the Giants’ Matt Chapman or the Rays’ Isaac Paredes at third base.
Obviously, despite their extreme underperformance over the past six weeks, the Yankees are trying, and with the acquisition of Chisholm, they’ve given themselves a move that could bring power, speed and mayhem — you know what? All That Jazz.
