In a summer freefall, the New York Yankees decided it was time to take a gamble and traded for Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Miami Marlins on Saturday.
The Marlins receive three prospects in return, including 22-year-old catcher Agustin Ramirez, ranked as the Yankees’ third-best prospect, according to Baseball America. Abrahan Ramirez and Jared Serna are the other players in the deal.
Chisholm, who has played center field the past 1 ½ years, started playing second base in recent weeks, and is expected to play both positions for the Yankees.
Chisholm drew the ire of former Marlins manager Don Mattingly and teammates in the past – with a long team meeting held in 2022 to discuss his conduct – but has matured in the past two years, Marlins officials say.
They warn it will be a learning process for Chisholm with the New York media, but believe he’ll be fine with strong leadership in place with captain Aaron Judge.
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The Yankees, of course, were warned about the strong personalities of free agent starter Marcus Stroman and outfielder Alex Verdugo, but they acquired both in the offseason and they’ve each fit in nicely into the clubhouse.
Yankees hitting coach James Rowson, who was formerly the Marlins bench coach, spoke highly of him recently with the New York Daily News.
“I’ve always had a great relationship with Jazz,” Rowson said. “I’ve gotten a chance to know him, but I think one of my strengths is building relationships with players over the years. It’s the same thing I try to do with the players I have here and the players I’ve been with in the past. Personally, I have no issues with Jazz.”
Yankees pitcher Cody Poteet, who was with the Marlins in 2021-2022, told the Daily News: “Playing with Jazz was fun. He’s a good teammate and plays hard. He’s a talented player, so I had nothing but a good time playing with Jazz.”
Chisholm, 26, certainly could be the jolt the Yankees need for their struggling offense. He is hitting .249 with 13 homers, 50 RBI, 22 stolen bases and a .730 OPS.
The Yankees, who had the best record in baseball in June, have since lost 23 of their last 33 games.
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