Since mid-June, things have not been good for the New York Yankees. It was something that numerous players, including manager Aaron Boone, called “a little bit of a rough stretch,” but it’s still a month and a half of subpar baseball. The Yankees were suddenly left with a roster full of holes instead of one that early in the season appeared to be a World Series contender.
The Yankees had to move quickly since the trade deadline was approaching. Thus, their first major move was to trade three prospects, including catcher Agustin Ramirez, to the Miami Marlins for outfielder and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. That gave the Yankees a spark in the lineup that they desperately needed. What remained to be determined, though, was Chisholm’s status once he got to the Bronx.
That answer, though, came from Boone, and it doesn’t really make sense.
When the Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night, Chisholm will make his major league debut. He will bat fifth in the order and play center field. Boone stated that Chisholm will play third base when he isn’t playing center field in an interview with reporters prior to the game. Boone’s remarks are provided by NJ Advance Media’s Max Goodman.
The fact is, during his MLB career, Chisholm has never once played third base.
Aaron Boone intends to use former Marlin Jazz Chisholm Jr. at third base despite his lack of experience the position.
It makes sense to remove DJ LeMahieu from the lineup by taking his name out of the equation for third base. Although Boone still intends to give LeMahieu some playing time at various infield spots, the player has been a complete bust this season both offensively and defensively. Along with the unwillingness to start Gleyber Torres at third base. In the end, Torres has proven to be a defensive liability at second base, and Yankees supporters would like to forget about his shortstop experiment.
Despite Chisholm’s willingness to play third, Boone believes that the utility man’s decision to play a position he has never played before is concerning.
There was a perception that the Yankees had acquired their everyday leadoff hitter when the transaction was finalized. Ultimately, Chisholm started at first base for Miami for sixty of the team’s games this season, slashing.244/.317/.408 with nine home runs, 29 RBI, and 58 hits in 238 at-bats.
Boone stated that he sees Chisholm batting in the middle of the lineup because he thinks leadoff hitters Gleyber Torres and Alex Verdugo can provide some quality hits. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com provided the words from Boone.
Verdugo had not played well since June 14 when he blasted a home run against the Red Sox. Limiting time batting leadoff has been observed by the outfielder. Despite having only 24 at-bats and a.613 OPS, he does have a batting average of.292.
In 13 of the games this season, Torres hit first in the order and finished with a.218 batting average and a.617 OPS in 55 at-bats.
Boone is employing Chisholm in an unusual way at first. Are there going to be any additional trades? As of yet, we are unsure. That response should be received by July 30 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Though Chisholm has never played third base and is primarily a leadoff hitter, the Yankees will nonetheless use him there when he is in the infield and in the middle of the order.
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