The New York Yankees went into the trade deadline in desperate need of another bat to add depth to a lineup that has been ravaged by injuries and underperformance from some of its regulars.
They got what they needed through a blockbuster trade, and Aaron Boone has been impressed with his new infielder so far.
Boone recently told MLB Network Radio how impressed he has been with new Yankee infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., saying that Chisholm told him he thinks he was born to play third base even though he had never played the position prior to joining the team, adding “A week into this, he’s played the position, if you didn’t know any better you’d say ‘oh, he’s probably one of the best defenders over there in the league,” he’s been that good.”
Hot corner, cool Jazz.
Aaron Boone tells @MLBNetworkRadio how impressed he’s been with his new third baseman, Jazz Chisholm Jr. pic.twitter.com/rUrujAyQpR
— MLB (@MLB) August 7, 2024
It’s high praise from Boone, and he’s right that Chisholm has done a great job at third base to fill a need for a team that hasn’t gotten much from the hot corner this season due to the struggles of Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu.
Chisholm had no experience at third prior to joining the Yankees but was willing to do whatever the team needed to win games, and moving to third has helped the team deal with having a surplus of outfielders due to Alex Verdugo, Aaron Judge, and Juan Soto playing every day with Trent Grisham mixing in when Judge or Soto take a day at DH.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres balked at the idea of moving to third base despite leading the league in errors at second base, but Chisholm has embraced the new role and could be this team’s long-term solution at the hot corner if he keeps this up.
