Step Up to the Plate: An Unfiltered Yankees Insight
Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. avoids struck by broken bat incident: "Avoids potential fatal accident".
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Want hands-on action? Try it for free.CLEVELAND - Jazz Chisholm Jr. has taken things to the next level defensively this season, making some eye-catching plays—but not without consequences. Last Monday, he tackled a soft liner to second base, only to notice a menacing object coming his way. A broken bat.
The ball transformed into an RBI single for Brayan Rocchio, contributing to the Yankees' 6-4 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field. Despite the consequences, Chisholm was unapologetic.
"It's a tricky one," he admitted. "I don't want to let my team down, but I also don't want to hazard my life with a splintered bat. I've seen some gruesome incidents involving broken bats in my career, and I don't wish to join that club."
He's been there before, getting hit by a broken bat in a High-A game while playing shortstop. He's even witnessed such incidents with his former team, the Marlins.
A similar occurrence happened this weekend in Tampa, with Aaron Judge's broken-bat grounder being left unattended by the Rays' Junior Caminero due to the shards flying his way.
"I'm a little more cautious about going for balls when the bat's in my path for that reason," said Chisholm, who later blasted a two-run homer, his seventh of the season.
A chat between Aaron Boone and Michael Hill, MLB's senior vice president of on-field operations, didn't end in Aaron Judge bagging an eighth home run, but Boone seemed content after expressing his displeasure over a Sunday call by umpires that deemed Judge's deep fly ball a foul—instead of a fair home run.
"He just said it was a tough call," Boone said. "Obviously, with no third deck and all that, it complicates matters."
Marcus Stroman's recovery from knee inflammation has been slow, with the Yankees still without a clear timeline for his return.
"He's still dealing with some stuff, so he hasn't been progressing as quickly as we'd hoped," Boone explained.
The Yankees' rotation depth is questionable, with the team's five starters serving as their only reliable options. Stroman, who is earning $18.5 million this season, has an $18 million vesting option for 2026 based on pitching 140 innings, which looks less feasible the longer he remains on the IL.
"There's probably some nerve stuff in there that's aggravating it," Boone added. "We'll keep working to get him in shape, and then hopefully he can start building back up."
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With Trent Grisham taking time off for family reasons and Marcus Stroman's recovery stalling, Judge was given a second straight day at DH, with Pablo Reyes stepping in at right field. DJ LeMahieu is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Tuesday, while Jonathan Loaisiga prepares to throw a final live batting practice session before starting a rehab assignment on Saturday with Single-A Tampa. Giancarlo Stanton is gradually getting back into shape, but for now, he's still limited to hitting off the Trajekt pitching machine.
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., despite showing impressive defense this season, experienced a challenging play last Monday when he was caught by a broken bat while trying to field a soft liner, resulting in an RBI single for Brayan Rocchio, contributing to the Yankees' loss.
- In a previous game, Chisholm had a personal experience with a broken bat while playing shortstop, and he has also witnessed such incidents with his former team, the Marlins.
- Similarly, a Rays' fielder, Junior Caminero, was recently faced with the same situation when Aaron Judge's broken-bat grounder was left unattended due to shards flying his way.
- In the Major League Baseball (MLB), fielders need to be extra cautious when pursuing balls in the path of broken bats to avoid potential injuries.
