Yankees To Acquire Jazz Chisholm
4:13 p.m.: González (X link) reports the complete trade, which includes Ramirez and Serna heading to the Marlins alongside an infield prospect Abrahan Ramirez.
3:40 p.m.: MLB.com's Christina De Nicola reports the infield prospect Jared Serna is part of a return to Miami alongside Ramirez.
2:52 p.m.: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the sides have agreed to a deal. Holding on to hope Agustin Ramirez headlines about the return of three players, according to ESPN's Alden González (X link).
2:46 p.m.: Jazz Chisholm Jr. he's on his way to the Big Apple, like the Yankees and Marlins “they are in deep discussion” about a possible trade, according to the Miami Herald's Craig Mish (X link). Miami will get three chances in exchange for an outfielder.
Chisholm, 26, was a 100-hit prospect when the Marlins acquired him from the Diamondbacks in a deal that sent the right-hander. Zac Gallen to Arizona. While Gallen has blossomed into one of the NL's top starters since arriving in the desert, Chisholm's time in Miami has been rather slow. After a 2021 rookie campaign in which he split time between shortstop and second base with a nearly league-average offense, Chisholm made a second full-time commitment in 2022 and slashed .254/.325/.535 (136 wRC+) . slash line that year. Unfortunately, Chisholm's All-Star campaign was cut short by a stress fracture in his back that limited him to just 60 games that year.
Those injuries combined with the Marlins' lack of quality options in the outfield led Miami to move Chisholm out of the outfield before the 2023 season, moving him to center field. The results of that test were somewhat mixed, as Chisholm took a step back in the offense with a 103 wRC+ and was limited to just 97 games with a toe hit but proved to be incredibly solid defensively in center with a +4 Outs Above Average, though Defensive Runs Saved disagreed with that assessment and made him one of the ten worst outfield defenders in the game last year with a -14 rating. Chisholm's offense hasn't been very strong in 2024 as he's slashing .249/.323/.407 (104 wRC+) on the year, but his defensive metrics have settled in a lot to paint him as a near-starter defender (+1 OAA , -4 DRS) in the middle ground. Perhaps most importantly, the youngster has remained healthy and on the field this year as he has appeared in 101 of Miami's 104 games while getting work at second base again in recent weeks.
Chisholm's versatility is certainly part of what makes him an attractive addition to the Yankees. While Aaron is the judge again Juan SotoThe 2024 foreign campaigns have kept the Yankees' offense going for a long time so far and allowed the club to post a solid 60-45 record overall, going 6-13 in the month of July thanks in part to them. A lackluster supporting cast that saw only an acting role Austin Wells posted above average numbers in wRC+ average among healthy Yankees players with at least 100 PA this year not named Judge or Soto.
With so many areas on the roster that could improve, Chisholm is a little more than an average bat with the versatility to be a major asset for the Yankees. SNY's Andy Martino was among those suggesting following the trade news that Chisholm's position with the Yankees is not fully set in stone, and it's easy to see why. Chisholm's ability to play in the middle can help the manager Aaron Boone turning to the struggling left fielder Alex Verdugowho has posted a wRC+ of 56 since early June, gradually while pushing Judge into a less taxing position in the outfield or perhaps allowing him to DH on days when both Chisholm and Verdugo roam the outfield.
On the other hand, Gleyber Torres he has a season low (96 wRC+) as the club's regular second baseman and third baseman has been a big hole for the Yankees all season, though neither Torres nor Chisholm have experience at the hot corner in the majors. Given Torres' impressive 119 wRC+ against lefties and Verdugo's atrocious 63 wRC+ against other southpaws this season, it's possible to even consider Chisholm (who sports a respectable 96 wRC+ against southpaws despite his left-handed bat) playing the outfield with the remaining starters while meeting the infield more often against righties, allowing the Yankees to effectively play matchups for both Verdugo and Torres, especially in a situation where New York's brass doesn't want to have Chisholm or Torres read third base on the fly.
Of course, another factor in Chisholm's value to the Yankees is that he controls through the 2026 season. For an estimated case to see Soto, Torres, Verdugo, JD Davisand maybe Anthony Rizzo all headed to free agency following the 2024 campaign, adding Chisholm to the roster as a long-term building block alongside sluggers Jaji and Giancarlo Stanton and the youth of Wells, Anthony Volpeagain Ben Rice gives the Yankees the ability to determine Chisholm's long-term home on the diamond based on both his defensive performance and the needs of the roster around him in an offseason where re-signing Soto figures to be a priority. It's possible to imagine Chisholm settling in as either an infield player or an outfielder depending on the team's outfield additions this winter and the performance of new players emerging in the club's system as an infielder. Oswald Peraza and foreign player Jason Dominguezboth could compete for everyday roles in 2025.
As for the Marlins, they will receive a three-prospect package in return for a young player who has single-handedly hit the club this year since then. Luis Arraez faced San Diego in May. The closest to making an impact at the big league level for that team is Ramirez, a 22-year-old catcher who is already on the 40-man roster and reached the Triple-A level earlier this year. Young is only the #20 player in the Yankees lineup according to MLB Pipeline but is the third strongest player in the lineup according to Baseball America.
A first baseman who slashed .290/.372/.570 in 58 games at the Double-A level this year before being promoted to the next level, Ramirez offers attractive raw power and the ability to connect with all four, albeit breaking balls. top order has given him trouble and both Pipeline and BA suggest he will need to improve his swing decisions a bit to reach his potential as a batsman. Scouts have many questions about whether or not Ramirez will be able to stick in the majors, although there is hope that he will have a future in the big leagues even if he ends up moving from catcher to the tight end. as a starting point.
Also headed to Miami when he returns is Serna, a 22-year-old in the midst of a solid season at the High-A level. The club's #19 prospect by Pipeline and #11 by BA per, Serna slashed a respectable .253/.341/.444 in 88 games with the Yankees' Hudson Valley affiliate while swiping bags of 11 and smacked 13 home runs, though his own. body doesn't produce more power and is expected to regress to below-average levels in the majors. Serna is also considered a long-term shortstop, as BA notes that his low arm means he may end up at second despite his experience in the outfield and at the hot corner.
More to come…
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