It was a long time coming, but Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. finally returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing more than a month with an oblique injury.
And what did he do in his first game back? Oh, just about everything.
Starting at third base for the first time since Game 5 of the 2024 World Series, Chisholm Jr. handled himself well, and even made a great play at the hot corner in the first inning.
At the plate? He picked up the Yankees’ first hit in the fifth inning with a bloop single and scored from second base on a DJ LeMahieu single. And then he hit the go-ahead homer in the seventh to lift New York to a 3-2 win over the Guardians.
“It was great to see all the things he can do on the diamond,” manager Aaron Boone said of Chisholm Jr. “The speed scoring easily from second on the hit from DJ. The homer to give us the lead right back after they tied it up. Pretty good play over on third to get the night started. Really excited to have him back and good to see him have that kind of impact right away.”
Before the injury, Chisholm was struggling at the plate after a scorching start where he hit four long balls in his first six games. He was only hitting .181 and hit two home runs in his last 15 games before being placed on the IL.
The 27-year-old would go 2-for-3 with his homer to start, as Chisholm put it, his season over again.
“I pictured 3-for-3 but I’ll take 2-for-3,” Chisholm said with a chuckle. “Every day sitting on that bench, you’re thinking about coming back, especially — I didn’t have the best start. But at the same time, coming back, starting strong and starting the season over. Starting everything over… you don’t focus on what happened before. This is how I wanted to start my comeback.”
Since Chisholm went on the IL on April 29, the Yankees kept chugging along, going 17-9 in the month of May while using a revolving door of infielders to play second and third after Oswaldo Cabrera’s ankle injury.
With Cabrera out for the season, Boone asked Chisholm to return to playing third, a request the infielder obliged. When he was rehabbing with Double-A Somerset, Chisholm said he was willing to do anything to help the Yankees win a championship, and he echoed that after his return on Tuesday.
“I just want to win. I want a ring. We have a lot of great guys in here, and I’ve really valued teamwork my whole career,” he said. “All I think about is being a team guy, and I did it in Miami where I moved from second base and went and played center field. Came over here, didn’t play second base, played third base. Started off the season this year at second base, went back to third base again.
“So for me, it’s just I want to win. I want to help my team win, and it’s my favorite organization I’ve ever been a part of, so I definitely want to help.”
Chisholm says changing positions is more mental than anything else, but he praised his teammates for always being there for him on the field — like how Paul Goldschmidt made a great pick at first base to pick up Chisholm’s throw — and off the field.
“Mentally [it’s difficult], but that’s what you have these guys here for. You got [Aaron] Judge, [Anthony] Volpe. They come and talk to you,” Chisholm said. “When you have such a good relationship with the manager, you don’t mind doing anything for a guy you have a good friendship with.”
Chisholm made 45 regular season starts at third base last year and said he didn’t think he would play there again. But he’s ready to restart.
“I really thought I was done at third base. I thought I left my career over there with a good stamp,” he said. “But I guess we’re back again. We gotta shine again. Can’t let the reputation go down at third base.”
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