Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. likely heading to IL with left UCL injury: report
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that Jazz Chisholm Jr., the team's trade acquisition last month, suffered a left UCL injury and is likely headed to the IL.
The New York Yankees didn’t have Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the roster for a month without the versatile star needing to hit the IL.
And this injury may not be one that he can return from this season.
Manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday prior to the Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox that Chisholm is likely to hit the IL with a left UCL injury.
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It is currently unknown whether the injury requires surgery for repair or not.
Baseball players dread hearing those three letters attached to the word "injury," as the UCL is crucial to throwing properly. For Chisholm, his left UCL isn’t his throwing elbow, but the injury could hinder his swing from the left side of the plate.
Chisholm exited the Yankees’ Monday night loss in Chicago when he scored on an infield hit by Anthony Volpe in the top of the fifth inning.
Chisholm was stealing third base with two outs, and once he saw Volpe’s slow-roller go between the third baseman and shortstop, he started to book it to home plate to score a run.
A throw from the White Sox shortstop was on target, but Chisholm’s head-first slide beat the tag for the score. However, upon further review of the play, Chisholm’s left arm got caught up in the cleat of the catcher, which could’ve caused the injury.
Chisholm left the game an inning after that with what the Yankees called a left elbow injury.
"My adrenaline was still going, so I didn’t feel it right away," Chisholm said after fans and the YES Network broadcast saw him trying to rotate his arm after the play at the plate. "An inning went by, just sitting there, and I started to feel it a little bit."
This is the last thing the Yankees wanted to see after acquiring Chisholm at the MLB trade deadline late last month to add juice from the left side of the plate to their lineup.
They also found that Chisholm fits comfortably at third base despite never playing there before in his MLB career with the Miami Marlins. And since the trade, Chisholm has panned out well in New York, slashing .316/.361/.702 with a 1.062 OPS, seven homers, 11 RBI and 13 runs scored in 14 games.
Chisholm said he wasn’t "super concerned" about his injury after the game, but further testing shows that he does have ligament damage. Whether that will keep him in the dugout long-term remains to be seen.
While the Yankees and its rabid fan base hope he can return to third base soon, Boone has decisions to make about how to replace him in the lineup.
The Yankees were in a rut prior to Chisholm’s arrival, and third base was a clear hole. The team will need to look to players like DJ LeMahieu, who struggled defensively at third base before Chisholm arrived, Oswaldo Cabrera and perhaps Gleyber Torres to fill the void.
Cabrera will start at third base in place of Chisholm on Tuesday night as their series with the White Sox continues.
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