The New York Yankees are making their thoughts on Jazz Chisholm's future abundantly clear.
Heading into the 2026 MLB campaign, New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm was preparing to make the big bucks.
The two-time All-Star is slated to hit free agency at season's end, and he has already made it clear that he is aiming for $350 million on his next contract. He also set some lofty goals for himself, stating that he is chasing a 50-50 campaign.
Chances are, neither of those things will happen. It seems hard to imagine anyone forking over more than $200 million for Chisholm; let alone $350 million, and through the first month-and-a-half, he has homered just three times and owns a .630 OPS.
As for the Yankees? It seems pretty obvious that they do not view Chisholm as a part of their long-term future, and they are making that plain as day with the way they are handling top shortstop prospect George Lombard Jr.
With Anthony Volpe now down at Triple-A, New York is choosing to move Lombard all around the infield, playing him at multiple positions — including second base — to get a feel for how he will fit with the team once he reaches the big leagues.
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm. Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images.Lombard is a slick-fielding shortstop, so the Yankees would surely prefer to put him at short, but if Jose Caballero continues to prove his value to to the squad, they might ultimately choose to make Lombard a second baseman once he hits The Show ... especially if they end up trading Volpe (which could happen as soon as this summer).
It's becoming increasingly apparent that New York has no intention of re-signing Chisholm, who was initially acquired by the club midway through 2024 and has been very up and down throughout his tenure in the Bronx. His .571 OPS in Yankees playoff games doesn't help his case, either.
For Lombard, the biggest question was his bat, but he is slashing .298/.396/.511 with four home runs and 10 RBI between Double-A and Triple-A this season. His numbers have taken a bit of a hit since being promoted to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but it's only been five games, and an adjustment period is expected.
Lombard is the Yankees' No. 1 prospect — ahead of pitchers like Carlos Lagrange, Elmer Rodriguez and Ben Hess — for a reason, and New York surely has every intention of making his path to the majors as seamless as possible.
If that means sliding him over to second base, then so be it. And eve if the Yanks don't do that, it seems hard to imagine them parting with both Caballero and Volpe to pay Chisholm an extensive amount of money.
Chisholm isn't getting $350 million, but there may be a team out there willing to give him $150-180 million, and the Yankees would certainly balk at that price tag.
Even if the 28-year-old is willing to take a discount to stay in the Big Apple (which he almost certainly won't), you kind of get the feeling that New York will be perfectly fine moving on from him to set up a middle infield that includes Lombard in 2027.
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