The Jazz fit the bill perfectly: Jazz Chisholm Jr. brings style, energy and athleticism to a traditional, veteran-heavy Yankees clubhouse, while also providing a needed offensive boost to a lineup that was degenerating into a taxing two-man lineup.
Brian Cashman and company had a tough task at the deadline. In a deep seller’s market, they had to acquire an infielder who could hit — an asset that was especially scarce in a system filled with mediocrity and bad enough to have nine teams give up. Chisholm wasn’t even the most desirable prospect, because he was playing center field in Miami when the offer came.
The Yankees needed imagination, or at least a solid source of information. Chisholm had told friends he wanted to return to the field, and if you knew him at all — and like many New Yorkers, the Yankees have deep ties to South Florida — you knew he’d love it here.
Jazz is perfect. By all accounts, and by his perpetual smile, he loves the attention, the fame and the fans. Yes, all of those things are definitely lacking in Miami.
“He loves right field,” longtime Marlins manager and Yankees standout Don Mattingly, who now coaches with the Blue Jays, told The Post. “He’s fearless.”
The Jazz were a good fit, as they were essentially the only ones available to acquire him.
The Yankees traded highly-touted catcher Augustin Ramirez and two other young players for Chisholm (Yankee folks like Ramirez’s bat but weren’t sure he could play the position). But before (and after) they checked out four other infielders. Unfortunately, the Angels liked Luis Rengifo, the Reds liked Jonathan India even more, and the Rays probably didn’t want to trade Isaac Paredes or Yandy Diaz within their division. Of those four, only Paredes, a uniformly pull hitter who doesn’t fit Yankee Stadium, was traded. All 67 of his home runs for the Rays were hit to left field. And he’s not a Jazz.
The 26-year-old Chisholm is that guy. A shortstop, second baseman and center fielder, he’s now playing third base and doing so well. Though he’s never played third base before, he says he sees himself as a “little guy.” [Manny] He’s been called “Machado” and “Little A-Rod,” so it’s no coincidence he’s wearing Alex Rodriguez’s old number 13 here.
The Yankees checked out Chisholm, along with hitting coach (and former Marlins bench coach) James Rowson, Yankees icon Mattingly and former Marlins boss Derek Jeter. I did my own research and it was mostly complimentary.
“The Jazz work. He just needs someone to run the ball and make smart decisions on the bases,” said a Jazz-fan friend in Florida. “The Jazz are flashy. Some people think flashiness doesn’t work, but that’s not the case here.”
The Jazz needed a hitter, and he’s a left-handed hitter. To borrow a famous line from Luis Severino, who traded from the Yankees to the Mets, two “good hitters” can’t last forever. And now, just one week after Chisholm donned the pinstripes and took over with the team, his 1.064 OPS, two homers in two games, and a number of starting pitchers have bounced back to form, helping the Yankees end a six-week slump and return to the top of the MLB offensive charts with an average of 5.16 runs allowed per game.
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto can no longer feel alone in the lineup.
Suddenly, Anthony Volpe has his power stroke back (five of his 11 homers have come in his last 12 games), Austin Wells is a surprise cleanup hitter (.964 OPS since the hiatus), and Gleyber Torres is answering a belated wake-up call.
The Jazz, on the other hand, are a perfect fit. If you saw him in Miami, you’d see his flashy clothes and accessories and hear about his feud with Marlins veteran Miguel Rojas, in a classic rookie-on-rookie battle over clothing and attitude.
According to several Marlins sources, some veteran players treated him like a rookie, and he fought back. Mattingly would only say there was good intentions on both sides, but everyone agrees it didn’t work out. Chisholm eventually announced on “The Pivot” podcast that the de facto captain (presumably Rojas) was “taken off” because he was “a no-no.” That won’t happen with the Yankees. The Yankees captain is a great judge, and he definitely isn’t a no-no.
The Jazz are well-suited, as they have a great prospect. He knows where he stands and didn’t disagree that it’s a little too early to be on the cover of the 2023 edition of “MLB: The Show” (not to be confused with The Post podcast of the same name). Past MVPs Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani and Judge are more typical choices. Greatness may be coming, but it’s still a ways off.
“Everyone thinks I have the talent to be MVP, especially with my game and skill set, and hopefully I can be consistent enough to win that title,” Chisholm said with maturity.
Now that he’s moved 1,200 miles north and back into the spotlight, his opportunities are improving. He said he loves Miami (who doesn’t?), and he definitely considers it a blessing in disguise: The crowds are bigger, the traditions are richer and the sense of urgency is palpable. All in his league.
“I love it here,” Chisholm said.
Trust me, Jazz, everyone here loves you.
