For years, aggrieved New York Yankees fans have decried the team as "too analytical," and blamed their downfall on nerds grabbing the controls and defying logic at the behest of the almighty number. In reality — and, in the case of Jazz Chisholm Jr., specifically — the Yankees were actually falling victim to the opposite issue. Every single number, advanced or otherwise, was absolutely screaming that he was a better fit at second base than third. Every nerd and eye-tester were in complete agreement — and yet, the Yankees wouldn't budge.
Until Tuesday, for whatever reason. It seems the Yankees' braintrust had a productive off day, as Aaron Boone announced on the Talkin' Yanks podcast that Chisholm Jr. would be moving back to his natural position of second base effective immediately.
Chisholm Jr., who has been dealing with a sore shoulder that bothers him when he makes the long throw to first, posted +3 Outs Above Average at second this season and looked like a breath of fresh air. He then moved to third base to accommodate DJ LeMahieu, where he's subtracted three OAA and gotten himself back to net zero, looking like a breath of hot breath.
The first step? Mission accomplished. Now comes the hard part: finding a third baseman who adds value to pair him with. On Tuesday, it'll be Oswald Peraza, per Boone. He's not the solution. DJ LeMahieu, despite his empty-but-more-effective-than-expected bat in June, isn't either.
And so, the Yankees have reached the second, more difficult impasse in this process. Moving Chisholm Jr. was simple. DFA'ing LeMahieu and eating his remaining $15 million salary for 2026, as well as half of that money still assigned to 2025? That's tougher, and the nerds, viewers and fans will all collectively need to convince Hal Steinbrenner that his job's not done quite yet.
Yankees to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second base vs. Mariners, bench DJ LeMahieu
LeMahieu, batting a powerless .266 and accruing 0.7 bWAR in a month and a half of action, has been an offensive positive, against all odds. His lack of mobility has been glaring at second base, however, and the difference between the lithe and athletic Chisholm Jr. and the entering-his-final-seasons LeMahieu has been stark.
The Yankees could theoretically make use of LeMahieu as a bench bat down the stretch, but they need both a third-base starter and a viable infield backup who can cover short in a pinch; DJ cannot do that under any circumstances. The writing is on the wall, and the first steps in the right direction have been taken. Now, it's just on Steinbrenner to finish reading it.
