Yankees land Chisholm from Marlins for 3 prospects
Craig Forde
Christina De Nicola
In the midst of a wild Fenway Park encounter for the Yankees on Saturday evening, the club announced that it had officially acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Marlins in exchange for three prospects.
Voted in as the National League’s starting second baseman for the 2022 All-Star Game, Chisholm has spent the vast majority of the past two seasons in center field, where he moved in order to make room for Miami’s acquisition of All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez. Arraez was traded to the Padres in May, but only recently did Chisholm return to second a couple of times a week to cut back on how much running he was doing in the outfield.
TRADE DETAILS
Yankees receive: OF/INF Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Marlins receive: C Agustin Ramirez (Yankees No. 20 prospect), INF Jared Serna (No. 19 prospect), INF Abrahan Ramirez
Following New York’s 11-8, 10-inning win on Saturday, the team expressed added excitement for its latest acquisition.
“He’s a dynamic player,” said a grinning Aaron Judge. “You can throw him up at the leadoff spot or wherever, he’s going to definitely lengthen this lineup. He’s a weapon. You can put him on the outfield, anywhere in the infield. He’s got speed, he’s got power and all of us are pretty excited to have him on board.”
“We’re excited to get a talent like his,” said manager Aaron Boone. “We think his skill set will play at Yankee Stadium. He’s got power, he has tremendous speed, he’s got position versatility. He plays with a lot of energy and a lot of pizzazz.”
Entering 2024, the two biggest questions concerning Chisholm were his ability to stay healthy and hit against left-handers. He has proven himself on both fronts. The left-handed-hitting Chisholm, who already has surpassed his total number of games from ’23 with 101, has a better average (.254 to .246) and on-base percentage (.324 to .323) vs. southpaws this season.
While Chisholm’s home run rate is down, he has double-digit taters (13) and stolen bases (22) for the fourth consecutive season. Chisholm has one of the best improvements in whiff rate, from 35.7% to 28.6%, in baseball despite seeing fewer pitches to hit. He also showcases elite baserunning run value, according to Baseball Savant.
But while New York is gearing up for the presence of another star player in the mix, the Marlins expressed their disappointment in having to see him leave the organization where he quickly became one of the faces.
“Jazz was obviously meaningful to the fan base and to the organization,” said Marlins manager Skip Shumaker. “Cover of ‘[MLB] The Show,’ you name it, right? Every kid, including my kid, wanted to turn on the TV to watch Jazz. So it’s always tough to lose a dynamic player like Jazz.”
The 26-year-old Chisholm is no stranger to Deadline deals, having gone from Arizona to Miami for right-hander Zac Gallen in a rare prospect-for-prospect deal in 2019. Chisholm, who is making $2.63 million in ‘24, has two more years of arbitration eligibility before he can become a free agent.
One of the prospects headed to Miami is catcher Agustin Ramirez, now ranked as the Marlins’ No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline.
Ramirez, who turns 23 in September, has slashed .269/.358/.505 with 20 homers and 18 stolen bases this season, most of that for Double-A Somerset. After a slow start following a promotion to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Ramirez has picked up the pace, batting .324 while hitting safely in his past eight games. But overall, his stock had soared both within the Yankees’ system and on a national level.
The Yankees also sent High-A infielder Jared Serna — now the Marlins’ No. 8 prospect — and Rookie-level infielder Abrahan Ramírez to Miami.
When asked about trade rumors on Thursday, a diplomatic Chisholm would not yet entertain the idea of departing Miami, but added, “Baseball is baseball. I love playing baseball, so I’m going to go out there and love playing the sport every day.”
As far as when Chisholm will join the Yankees, Boone could only say, “We’ll see,” though the club is eager to acclimate him into the group as quickly as possible.
“I think everyone is going to love him once he gets here,” said Marcus Stroman.
