Yankees must drop Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the bottom of the lineup

New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. David Richard-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees have a massive hole in the middle of their lineup, and its name is Jazz Chisholm Jr. Rather than dumping every rally into that hole, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has to move it somewhere less consequential — such as ninth in the batting order. 

Fans who remember the second baseman bursting into the Bronx last season by slashing .273/.325/.500 in 46 games with the Bombers may balk at the idea of dropping him into the nine hole. However, he’s been so bad in his first 29 games this season that such a drastic move is the only logical move for the Yankees to make right now.

After going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in Monday night’s 4–3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Chisholm is slashing .173/.298/.394. He’s struck out 39 times in 124 plate appearances. In other words, when he steps into the box there’s more than a 30% chance he’s about to whiff.

Chisholm does some things well. He’s been great defensively, he’s stealing bases (six in seven attempts), and when he does get a hit it’s likely to be a big one, as nine of his 18 hits have gone for extra bases. The 27-year-old is also a good teammate.