Aaron Judge Sounded Pumped About Adding 'Dynamic' Jazz Chisholm to Yankees Lineup

New York acquired the outfielder in a trade with the Marlins on Saturday.
Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm, photographed on opposing teams at the time, are now Yankee teammates
Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm, photographed on opposing teams at the time, are now Yankee teammates / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
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The New York Yankees made their first substantial move of the trade season on Saturday, acquiring Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Miami Marlins in exchange for three prospects.

Much is left to be decided about Chisholm's role with the Yankees on both sides of the field. They have a crowded outfield and could use help in various infield slots, and the Marlins had Chisholm play some second base in advance of the trade deadline, ostensibly to market his capabilities at the position. But Gleyber Torres mans the role and has been hitting better of late.

In addition to his defensive positioning, Chisholm's role on the offense will be worth watching. Does manger Aaron Boone slot Chisholm into the lead-off spot, where the Yankees could use help? Or does Boone slot him into the middle part of the lineup to try to extend the offense and keep pressure on opposing pitchers?

Aaron Judge, Chisholm's new star teammate, has thoughts that generally reduce to the idea of, "you can't go wrong putting him anywhere."

Much of the Yankees lineup has gone cold at points throughout the season. While they have not been immune from short slumps themselves, Judge and Juan Soto are really the only two batters that have been reliable producers at the plate end to end.

Any batter that gives Judge a little more protection, and thus a greater chance of getting a hittable pitch, is great for New York. Chisholm is slashing .249/.323/.407 this season.


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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.