Jazz Chisholm Jr. is set to face a new hurdle in the 2026 MLB season. Shortly after the New York Yankees informed he was coming out of the lineup, it was announced that the infielder will be out for even more time with an unexpected injury setback.
“Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been diagnosed with a sprained right thumb. He will be placed on the 10-day injured list,” MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reported on X. “No baseball activities for 7-10 days.”
Perhaps lost in the aftermath of Aaron Judge’s “not happy” admission after being pulled early in his first game back, Chisholm Jr. sounded the alarm in the Bronx. Coming off a two-hit outing during New York’s 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, Jazz showed signs of discomfort, underwent testing, and unpleasant news revealed itself to the Yankees.
When could Chisholm Jr return?
It remains to be seen how long Chisholm Jr. will be out in the 2026 MLB season. He will be out for 10 days, at least, meaning he could be activated off the IL on Sept. 19. However, because that will be in the middle of a road trip, Jazz could actually return for the circled-in-red, four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays (Sept. 22-24).
Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees.
Needless to say, it’s far from ideal for the pending free agent, who finally found his footing in what’s been a troublesome, ever-dramatic contract year. While a report hints that Chisholm Jr. could sign with the New York Mets, he isn’t paying attention to free-agency rumors. However, being sidelined and unable to help his team in the pennant race definitely doesn’t help.
Chisholm Jr.’s replacement
For the time being, the Yankees have yet to announce a corresponding move to fill the void. Jose Caballero will be the Bronx Bombers’ 2B in Wednesday night’s matchup against the Rockies. However, Aaron Boone and company will be searching for depth alternatives, and it seems they’ve found their match.
According to the New York Post’s Greg Joyce, playing Anthony Volpe at second base is something manager Aaron Boone is giving serious thought to. However, Volpe hasn’t played an MLB game since Aug. 1. Moreover, he’s gone hitless in his last four major-league outings. Since then, he’s been with the Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Volpe has been making progress since the start of September, registering a .440 batting average and 1.453 OPS. He’s gone 11-for-25 with eight runs and three home runs since the start of the month, and with Chisholm out for at least 10 days and Volpe being a potential shortstop-turned-second baseman, he may have made his case to get his name called up.
