Jazz Chisholm: Future Yankee?

by Ethan Semendinger

July 13, 2024

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The Yankees infield needs help: None of Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, or Jon Berti have an OPS+ over 85.

Is Jazz Chisholm an option?

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What Has Inspired This?

Late on Thursday night, Jon Heyman posted a column for the NY Post suggesting that the Yankees could look towards Jazz Chisholm of the Miami Marlins as a potential option to help fix in the infield. (Tweet below.)

This report- as the Yankees are in the midst of a massive losing spell- has Yankees fans thinking about the future of their infield, for both this year and in the short-term future.

Outside of Jazz Chisholm, other options considered by Jon Heyman in the article include Luis Rengifo of the Los Angeles Angels, Jonathan India of the Cincinnati Reds, and Ryan McMahon of the Colorado Rockies. I'll consider all of their cases.

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First, The Yankees Infield, In Short...

(But Not Discussing First Base or Shortstop):

Note: 2024 Yearly stats are as of the afternoon on July 12th

I'll start off nice and easy: This is not a discussion about Anthony Volpe. He is the shortstop for the Yankees this year and moving forward. His defensive prowess is solid, and as a 23-year-old, we can all hope that he'll improve his offense to (at-least) league average soon. Additionally, this will not be a discussion on Anthony Rizzo or Ben Rice. First base is a different animal than the rest of the infield, and should be considered, well, differently.

Instead, let's look towards the rest of the Yankees infielders: DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Jon Berti.

DJ LeMahieu: The only player on that list who is guaranteed an MLB contract for next year is DJ LeMahieu. (He's under contract for 2025 and 2026 at $15M per year.) DJ LeMahieu spent the first two months of this season on the IL for a right foot contusion, and since returning at the end of May, he has hit to a .202/.296/.229 triple-slash with a .525 OPS and a 52 OPS+. His underlying metrics indicate he is due for some positive regression, but his bat is still comfortably below league-average. Luckily, his defense still ranks in the 83rd percentile, according to Baseball Savant which means he does have some value.

Gleyber Torres: Gleyber Torres is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career, and he is doing so on the backs of his worst career to date. He is hitting to a triple-slash of .224/.297/.340 with a .637 OPS and an 80 OPS+. His metrics on Baseball Savant are nearly all below average, except for BB% (60th percentile), LA Sweet Spot % (64th percentile), and Chase% (88th percentile). His offense as a whole ranks in the 23rd percentile, his baserunning in 14th percentile, and his defense is in the 47th percentile. It's time for his time in pinstripes to end.

Oswaldo Cabrera: Oswaldo Cabrera is a fun player, who got his chance, and has proven to be nothing more than a bench bat. This year, he is producing to a .238/.285/.343 triple-slash with a .628 OPS and a 77 OPS+. His only above-average metrics are held in his baserunning (57th percentile), sprint speed (60th percentile), K% (62nd percentile), and Whiff% (92nd percentile). His overall offense is in the 31st percentile, his baserunning is in the 57th percentile, and his defense is in the 26th percentile. Given his age (25) and ability to be an all-around, super utility guy for infield and outfield (and the clubhouse), he'll probably maintain an MLB career. It helps the Yankees have another year of cheap control (pre-arbitration) and two minor league options on Cabrera, so he's likely going to stick in the system for a while.

Jon Berti: Unfortunately for Berti, he has had two short stints for the Yankees this year, both ending because of injury. He was traded to the Yankees at the end of March and was on the IL by mid-April for a left groin strain. He returned in early May and then was back on the IL by the end of May with a left calf strain, this time moving to the 60-day IL in mid-June. Luckily, his timeline is to do some MiLB rehab soon after the All-Star break. Looking at his stats after just 17 games is meaningless, but his longer track record shows he is a better hitting, better defending, and better baserunning version of Oswaldo Cabrera. The big concern around Berti, however, is the injury question, especially given his age (34). Berti is set to enter his final year of arbitration (arbitration 4) after this season, where he made $3.625M. So, his salary will be interesting to consider for next year.

To summarize the above reports:

• DJ LeMahieu's only tool left is his defense, and his contract is a negative

• Gleyber Torres is playing to a career-low

• Oswaldo Cabrera's best case scenario is as a super utility bench bat

• Jon Berti's age and injury history are reasons for concerns
  

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Hi, Jazz!

What Other Options Are Out There?

Due to the expanded playoff structure, many MLB teams can now convince themselves that a playoff spot is possible. This makes finding potential trade partners difficult, because the only teams set to trade are surely out of it. Which also means that their players, as a whole, are not good. So, to save myself time and struggle, I'm going to use the same list of players that Jon Heyman indicated in his post: Jazz Chisholm, Luis Rengifo, Jonathan India, and Ryan McMahon.

Jazz Chisholm: The hype around Jazz Chisholm- including being the cover athlete for "MLB The Show (2023)"- has been too much for his production, but has been propelled by his stature. He wants to be larger than life, he acts larger than life, and he talks larger than life. Those can be good qualities, as that internal belief in oneself is something a player needs to have to survive in New York. He is hitting to a .255/.324/.419 triple-slash with a .743 OPS and a 104 OPS+ this year, with metrics that are darling on his overall offense (74th percentile) and baserunning (98th percentile). His defense is suspect, but that could be an affect of playing center field, and a return to second base (where he played when he had his best offensive season) could be beneficial. Plus, he comes with two additional years of control in 2025 and 2026 via arbitration 2 and 3. Imagine him as your lead-off hitter. (Did I mention he's 26-years-old and a left-handed hitter too?)

Luis Rengifo: Just recently, Rengifo ended up on the IL with right wrist inflammation. Provided that doesn't get any worse, Rengifo could be a major step in helping this line-up. On the year, he has hit to a .315/.358/.442 triple-slash with a .800 OPS and a 123 OPS+. He's likely overperforming, but a 27-year-old switch-hitter finally finding his swing after 5 prior MLB seasons isn't unheard of. The problem with him is his defense. He ranks in the 7th percentile this year in overall defense, and he has never cracked the 30th percentile. Additionally, his offensive percentile (64th) and baserunning (63rd) are both good, but not overwhelming to make up for this major shortcoming. He has one additional year of control for 2025 (arbitration 3).

Jonathan India: The Yankees recently met India during a 3-game homestand featuring the Cincinnati Reds, where the Yankees got swept. It would be nice revenge to get one of their best players back. India this year is hitting to a .276/.375/.419 triple-slash with a .793 OPS and a 122 OPS+ from the right side of the plate. He is a fantastic bat (91st percentile) and a great defender (66th percentile), though his problem is baserunning (24th percentile). He was also bought out of his 2nd year of arbitration for 2025 at a $5M contract and has team control via arbitration 3 in 2026. The main question here is if the Reds want to move on from the 27-year-old, while he has a great contract for next year already.

Ryan McMahon: Apparently, the Rockies aren't going to trade this guy. In 2022, he signed a 6-year/$80M contract to stay in Colorado that keeps him under team control through 2027, and he is finally showing above average offense after 7 MLB seasons. This year he is great. He has a .272/.349/.450 triple-slash with a .798 OPS and a 117 OPS+, which comes out to 76th percentile for offense. His baserunning is 59th percentile. His defense is 72nd percentile. But, I'm okay with the Rockies not wanting to talk on him. To me, I see another DJ LeMahieu here, and that's not a promising sign.

To summarize the above reports:

• Jazz Chisholm has the bat and speed, but the defense is a question

• Luis Rengifo has the bat, some speed, and unquestionably bad defense

• Jonthan India has the bat and glove, some speed, but would likely be hard to get

• Ryan McMahon is not on the table and has all the tools, but a heavy contract
  

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What I Would Do:

Given these options, Jazz Chisholm is clearly the best option for the Yankees. He would immediately slot-in as a great lead-off bat for a team that is now trying DJ LeMahieu in the spot (after Alex Verudgo, Ben Rice, Anthony Volpe, and Gleyber Torres). He would open up a running game that has been non-existent, and would also bring some flash and excitement to a team that looks tired. I also don't think the ask for him, in terms of value, would be that hard to find a match. I'm all in on Jazz.

I don't want to bring in Luis Rengifo as he would trample the only good thing the Yankees have going this year (defense). Jonthan India can't play anywhere but second base (which I would get Chisholm for, so he becomes redundant), and Ryan McMahon is rumored to be off the table already.

Would you also like to take a listen to what Jazz has to offer?