Jazz Chisholm Jr. had to leave Thursday’s Yankees game after a foul ball found the worst possible target. He walked off under his own power, which was the best news the Yankees received all night.
The Yankees infielder was at the plate in the fifth inning when he fouled a 96 mph fastball straight down into a sensitive area. He immediately dropped to one knee, then to both knees, and stayed there for about a minute before slowly walking off with the trainer. The crowd in the Bronx winced as one.
Manager Aaron Boone confirmed after the game that Chisholm was day-to-day with what the team is calling a groin contusion. Translation: he took a baseball where you never want to take a baseball, and he is sore but will likely be back in the lineup within a few days.
This is the kind of injury that has happened to every Little League player and every major leaguer alike. The difference is the velocity. A 96 mph foul off the bat travels with brutal force, and the cup that big league hitters wear is not always enough to absorb the full impact.
The Yankees have been hit by injuries all year, and this is just the latest one. Aaron Judge missed two weeks with an oblique strain in May. Anthony Volpe is dealing with a sore shoulder. Gerrit Cole has not pitched since the spring after his second elbow surgery.
Chisholm being out even short-term is a problem because he is one of the few healthy bats in the Yankees lineup who can change a game with his speed. He is hitting .258 with 14 home runs and 17 stolen bases in 67 games, and he has been the offensive engine in stretches when Judge has cooled off.
The Yankees lost 5-2 on Thursday night. They are now 38-32, sitting third in the AL East behind the Red Sox and Blue Jays. The lead they built up early in the season has shrunk, and the rotation injuries are starting to catch up with them.
For Chisholm, the silver lining is that no real damage was done. He posted on social media a few hours after the game with a video of himself walking around the clubhouse, captioned with a laughing emoji and the message that he would live. The Yankees fanbase exhaled accordingly.
The bigger question for the Yankees is what they do at the trade deadline. They need rotation depth desperately, and the front office under Brian Cashman has been linked to several MLB starters. Sonny Gray, Robbie Ray, and Casey Mize are all on the rumor board.
Chisholm being healthy is the foundation any deadline trade has to build on. He is the only true high-OBP, high-stolen-base presence in a lineup that otherwise relies on slugging. Lose him for an extended period and the Yankees lose a dimension they cannot replace.
The team needs him back as soon as possible. Boone said the lineup card for Friday’s game against the Orioles is flexible depending on how Chisholm feels. If he is sore but functional, expect him to DH. If he is still in real pain, expect Oswaldo Cabrera to get the start at second base.
Foul-ball injuries are part of baseball. So is the cringe that follows them. Yankees fans will take a few days of soreness over anything worse, and Chisholm will be back in the leadoff spot before the All-Star break.
The Yankees do not have time for any other outcome.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
