Yankees' Reason for Eventually Dumping Jazz Chisholm is Obvious

During the early stages of the offseason, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was asked if the Yankees would hold contract extension talks with Jazz Chisholm, and he said it was something he would consider.

Fast forward to March, and nothing ever came of it, and that should not come as much of a surprise.

Chisholm is entering his final year before free agency, and it does not look like New York will be re-signing him after 2026.

The two-time All-Star has already set an extraordinarily high asking price for himself, claiming he deserves $35 million annually over a decade. The chances of the Yankees matching that are slim to none, and it's not just because Chisholm isn't worth it.

Well, that's part of it. Chisholm has certainly not proven to be a $350 million player. He has a very checkered injury history, and while did smash 31 home runs in 2025, he owns a lifetime .770 OPS.

But the primary reason why New York probably won't have much interest in keeping Chisholm past this season was on full display Tuesday afternoon: George Lombard.

Lombard is the Yankees' top-ranked prospect and put on a show in New York's 4-0 exhibition win over the Boston Red Sox, going 2-for-4 with a homer. What's more, that long ball came off of Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet.

Yes, Lombard is a shortstop by trade, so in theory, the Yanks could just ultimately give Anthony Volpe the boot once Lombard is ready and put the 20-year-old alongside of Chisholm up the middle.

But the Yankees also have fellow shortstop Dax Kilby down in the minor leagues, and the prevailing thought is that Kilby — who has rocketed up top prospect lists — will eventually move to second base to complement Lombard.

Hal Steinbrenner has made it abundantly clear that monitoring the payroll is now a thing in the Bronx. Enough so to make his legendary father blush.

Yes, New York is perpetually in win-now mode, but not at the expense of the future ... or the budget. For the most part.

With such superb middle infield talent coming up through the ranks in the Yankees' system, it doesn't make much sense to hand a volatile Chisholm a monster lifelong deal. He isn't Aaron Judge. He isn't Juan Soto. He's a solid player who is expendable.

And with Lombard perhaps being closer than ever to reaching the big leagues, Chisholm's time in the Big Apple is getting shorter by the day.

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