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MLB, Baseball Herren, USA Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees Sep 27, 2025 Bronx, New York, USA New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. 13 leaves the game after getting hit by a pitch in the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Bronx Yankee Stadium New York USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xWendellxCruzx 20250927_cec_cc1_184
Imago
MLB, Baseball Herren, USA Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees Sep 27, 2025 Bronx, New York, USA New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. 13 leaves the game after getting hit by a pitch in the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Bronx Yankee Stadium New York USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xWendellxCruzx 20250927_cec_cc1_184
Jazz Chisholm Jr. talked a big game about a $350 million contract and a 50-50 season. But now, the excuse for his early-season struggles isn’t sitting well with New York’s toughest critics.
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In a recent interview, the Yankees infielder was asked about his slump, and his reason was nothing related to performance: “It’s cold. It’s literally all it is… It’s hard to function when you can’t feel the bat.”
But Yankees announcer Michael Kay was having none of it.
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“That’s not good… If they make the World Series, it’s cold at the end of October… they use that as an excuse. And my advice to them is you’ve got to work through that… You can’t just say, ‘Oh, it’s cold out. I can’t hit.’ Well, you’d better learn how.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. has opened the 2026 season with an average of .186 across the 12 games played. He has only 8 hits in his 43 at-bats, with no homers, 3 RBIs, and only 3 extra base hits. Jazz has had only 2 hits in the last 5 games, meaning he has a low 54 wRC+.
But the reason Chisholm has given is quite laughable.
Is it too cold to hit in New York City right now? @RealMichaelKay says that can’t be excuse for certain batters.
Tune into The Michael Kay Show weekdays from 1P-3P on the @ESPNNewYork App & YouTube 📲
WATCH THE FULL SHOW HERE: https://t.co/ylvdmCGdz5 pic.twitter.com/TceTq8H0T0
— ESPN New York (@ESPNNewYork) April 10, 2026
With the weather and them standing in the field at all times, his body goes cold and unfunctional. But probably he didn’t know about his body before the season started.
Chisholm set a bold goal targeting a 50-50 season mark. That milestone has only been reached by none other than Shohei Ohtani.
“Why not shoot for the stars and land on the moon,” Chisholm made a point that he would do his best for the record, but would surely be better than the 2025 season.
But even that doesn’t seem to be the case.
In 2025, Jazz Chisholm Jr. finished the season with a .242 average but had 31 homers and 31 stolen bases and became the 4th Yankees player to do so after Alfonso Soriano and Bobby Bonds. And that is when he went out and talked about his contract.
With his deal over after the 2026 season, Jazz Chisholm Jr. mentioned that he deserves a contract worth $280 million to $350 million.
“What did I tell you last year? $300 million? It’s probably bigger than that now, probably $35 million… I’m 28. I want 8-10 years.”
So now, a little cold is what is holding him back!
As Kay mentioned, if the Yankees make the postseason and play in October, the temperature will be around 51-65 degrees. The question remains, how will he produce then?
Yet, let’s keep the criticism aside for a while because right now, the New York Yankees actually need him to fire.
The Yankees need Jazz Chisholm Jr. to start hitting like in 2025
This isn’t just about his career and his contract, but if the New York Yankees want to go deep into the postseason, they need Jazz Chisholm Jr. to start hitting.
The Yankees’ top order is loaded with Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton. But lower in the order, the power starts to disappear quickly. And this is exactly the gap that was exposed during the Athletics game.
Jeffrey Springs of the Athletics almost pitched a no-hitter, but gave up a single to Ben Rice in the 7th inning. Other than that, none of the other batters even got on base by getting a hit.
He finished the game with 7 innings, 1 hit, and no earned runs. The bullpen also continued the same and gave up no hits.
Only 4 Yankees batters had a wRC+ above 100. The dropoff comes from Trent Grisham, who is batting with a 95 wRC+.
After him, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon, and José Caballero all remain under 60 wRC+. This shows that multiple players are making very low contributions with the bat, and this adds a lot of pressure on the top hitters.
The concerns deepen when you look at the batters below Jazz like Ryan McMahon.
McMahon has 2 hits and 2 RBIs in the whole season and an average of .069. And those 2 hits are singles and not extra bases. He has not hit a ball over 300 feet since the opening series against San Francisco. Meanwhile, what makes things even worse for Chisholm is his underlying metrics.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s exit velocity has seen a dip to 87.7 MPH, and his hard hit percentage is just 29.6%. Those numbers sit below his career marks of 89.7 MPH and 41.9%. Overall, the Yankees’ infielder is simply not able to make contact and get on base.
The New York Yankees cannot expect Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to cover every offensive gap alone. If Jazz Chisholm Jr. continues this form, even strong pitching performances will be wasted.
Written by
Edited by
Ahana Chatterjee