Jazz Chisholm questions Yankees' defensive alignment, but says he'll do 'whatever it takes' to help team win

Chisholm said he was told he'd be the starting second baseman but has instead mostly manned third

On Tuesday, New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. made his 30th start of the season at third base -- notable because the plan coming into the year had Chisholm serving as the full-time second baseman. Plans have a tendency to change, and that's the case here. Chisholm has exclusively started at third base since June 3, the first time he shared a lineup this year with DJ LeMahieu.

"Everybody knows I'm a second baseman," Chisholm told The Athletic on Tuesday, revealing that the Yankees had assured him he'd only play second this year. "Of course, I want to play second base, but whatever it takes to help the team win. If that's what the team chooses, that's what I gotta do. I don't write the lineups. You feel me?

"I'm playing every day, so it's hard to be upset. Yes, I know I'm a second baseman. Yes, I know I'm better at second base, but at the end of the day, I still have to play third. I just have to deal with it."

Chisholm, 27, may not be playing where he wants defensively, but he hasn't let it impact his performance at the plate. He enters Wednesday hitting .240/.338/.495 (131 OPS+) with 14 home runs and 10 stolen bases. His contributions have been worth an estimated 2.2 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference's calculations.

While Chisholm has played at a star level in his first full season with the Yankees, the same hasn't been true for LeMahieu. In 40 games to date, he's batted just .250/.326/.328 (86 OPS+) with two home runs. LeMahieu, under contract through next season, hasn't been even a league-average hitter since 2022. 

A reasonable question to ask is whether the Yankees are better served continuing to employ LeMahieu (and inconvenience Chisholm) or if they would be improved by cutting bait with LeMahieu and returning Chisholm to the hot corner. The catch is that New York doesn't have a clear internal alternative to plug in at the keystone. Oswaldo Cabrera (fractured ankle) is unlikely to return this season, and Oswald Peraza hasn't performed well at the plate. The Yankees could theoretically give Jorbit Vivas or Braden Shewmake a look, but neither is necessarily an upgrade.

Without a good internal option, the Yankees might need to go outside of the organization between now and the July 31 trade deadline to find a third-base upgrade. What exactly that entails is to be seen -- Ryan McMahon of the Colorado Rockies and Eugenio Suárez of the Arizona Diamondbacks are expected to be two of the top names available on the trade market -- but securing a deal would help the Yankees field an optimized infield alignment, in terms of performance and player preference.