BOSTON — For a few seconds in the top of the eighth inning Sunday night, the Yankees were holding their breath.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., playing in his first game for the Yankees since being traded from the Marlins on Saturday, accidentally took an elbow to the jaw while rounding second base and fell to the ground in pain.
Chisholm fell to the ground and coach Aaron Boone and a trainer went to check on him, but he continued in the game.
Seconds later, he stole third base and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Yankees an 8-2 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Due to flight troubles and city traffic jams, Chisholm arrived at the stadium about an hour before the first pitch, starting in center field and batting fifth, and enjoyed his first game with his new team.
“I was super excited,” Chisholm said after a busy 24 hours that included receiving a congratulatory email from the prime minister of his native Bahamas. “Every kid dreams of playing for the Yankees. The Yankees are the most famous team in baseball because Derek Jeter played for them. Derek Jeter was everybody’s favorite player growing up. I had him as an owner.” [with the Marlins]So it feels natural to come here and put on the uniform.”
The next challenge for Chisholm will be a position change.
The Yankees plan to use him at third base, and he could start filling a big hole right away, starting with Monday’s series opener against the Phillies in Philadelphia.
Chisholm is a natural shortstop who has also played second base and center field but has never played third base in his professional career, but the Yankees believe he has the athleticism and talent to play where needed.
“For me, it’s just about going somewhere, especially as a winning team, they’re asking me to go somewhere to help win, so I’m definitely going to go out there and do that,” Chisholm said. “I feel like I’m a really good infielder, so I’m just going to go out there and catch the ball.”
Manager Aaron Boone was excited to have Chisholm free at third base.
“Defensive versatility is part of his game and I think it will continue to be that way,” Boone said. “He’s a great athlete and has the skill set to play shortstop. He’s obviously shown the ability to move to the outfield and play in the middle of the field. We’ll just work with him and try to get him comfortable and settled in.”
“But I’m excited to have him here. We’re a better team today, a better roster, having him here. I’m excited and I think he’s really excited to be here.”
Boone said the Yankees also plan to have Gleyber Torres, who hasn’t played third base since he was a minor leaguer in 2018, work on the position before the game.
However, Torres doesn’t seem keen on playing third base and would understandably prefer to stay at second base, which is why Boone suggested he was “reluctant” to move him there.
“Hopefully in two, three, four weeks we’ll be in a position where we’re really comfortable with the positions of the guys on the field,” Boone said. “The Jazz have had a center for a while. I think it’s a little easier to move him to a new position than it is to move two guys to a new position, but I’m open to a lot of different things.”
It’s also possible that the Yankees could make further moves before Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline to simplify Chisholm’s playing time.
For now, the Yankees will have to rely on Chisholm, who is under team control through 2026, to play third base, as D.J. LeMahieu has not played to his full potential since returning from a broken foot in late May.
They’re also looking to energize a lineup that has struggled to produce consistently outside of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
Those struggles have been especially problematic at the leadoff position, where Chisholm has experience, but Boone said that, at least for now, he plans to keep the lefty in the middle of the lineup with Alex Verdugo (against right-handed pitchers) and Torres (against left-handed pitchers) in the top spot.
Putting Chisholm in the middle of the lineup instead of on base at the top of the lineup could put him on base when Soto and Judge are up to bat and allow Boone to be more aggressive in giving him the go-ahead to steal bases.
Chisholm, who wears No. 13 for the Yankees, has made 22 of 30 stolen base attempts with the Marlins this season.
