Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been prescribed rest and rehab for the UCL injury in his left elbow and is expected to play again this season, per Jon Heyman and Greg Joyce of the New York Post. He’ll likely still be sidelined into September, but it’s good news for the Yanks that their most impactful deadline pickup won’t require immediate surgery and could return down the stretch.
Chisholm hit the injured list two days ago after suffering a left elbow strain on a slide into home plate. As we’ve seen in the past with position players, it’s possible to play through ligament damage in the non-throwing elbow without being significantly impacted at the plate. (Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper have had productive stretches at the plate despite ligament injuries requiring eventual surgery.) That’ll be the goal for the Yankees and Chisholm in the short term. There has yet to be any indication that eventual offseason surgery has been expressly ruled out. Presumably, that’ll hinge on how Chisholm’s elbow responds to the rest. Most — but certainly not all — sprains of the UCL do eventually require surgical repair.
The 26-year-old Chisholm has been a force in the Yankees’ lineup since being acquired from the Marlins in exchange for a prospect package headlined by young catcher Agustin Ramirez. In 14 games and 61 plate appearances, he’s ripped an incredible seven home runs while batting .316/.361/.702. That surge propelled Chisholm to 20 homers, and the five bases he’s swiped along the way have him at 27 steals on the year. It’s the first 20-20 season of the Bahamian-born infielder’s career.
Chisholm’s power-speed blend and potential for a 20-20 or even 30-30 season have long been apparent, but he’s been too prone to injury to realize that type of production until the 2024 campaign. He’s previously dealt with shoulder, back, foot and oblique injuries that limited him to 281 games in three seasons from 2021-23. His latest injury appears to lead to another absence of some note, but if Chisholm is back for even half of September, he’d have time to surpass his previous career-high 124 games in a big league season.
The Yankees control Chisholm via arbitration through the 2026 season. He’s earning $2.625M in 2024 and will be due a pair of raises in the next two offseasons. Chisholm has served as their primary third baseman since being acquired, although, with Gleyber Torres slated to become a free agent at the season’s end, a return to second base for Chisholm next season could be in the cards. His hot streak with the Yankees has boosted his season line from roughly average to a more productive .257/.328/.445, and Chisholm now touts a similar .254/.319/.468 slash with 53 long balls and 61 stolen bases through 1,115 plate appearances dating back to 2022.