Before the season started, Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. was in high spirits, asking for a $350 million contract and saying that he is going to enter the 50-50 club. But looking at how the season has progressed, it is time he does his basics right and then thinks about the rest. And what makes it worse is the “reason” he has given for not hitting well.
In a recent interview, the Yankees infielder was asked about his slump, and he said, “It’s cold. It’s literally all it is… It’s hard to function when you can’t feel the bat.” But Yankees announcer Michael Kay was having none of it.
Kay said, “That’s not good… If they make the World Series, it’s cold at the end of October… they use that as an excuse. And my advice to them is you’ve got to work through that… You can’t just say, ‘Oh, it’s cold out. I can’t hit.’ Well, you’d better learn how.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr. has opened the 2026 season with an average of .186 across the 12 games played. That means he has only 8 hits in his 43 at-bats. He has no homers, 3 RBIs, and only 3 extra base hits. He has only 2 hits in the last 5 games, meaning he has a low 54 wRC+.
But the reason Chisholm has given is quite laughable.
Is it too cold to hit in New York City right now? @RealMichaelKay says that can’t be excuse for certain batters.
Tune into The Michael Kay Show weekdays from 1P-3P on the @ESPNNewYork App & YouTube
WATCH THE FULL SHOW HERE: https://t.co/ylvdmCGdz5 pic.twitter.com/TceTq8H0T0
— ESPN New York (@ESPNNewYork) April 10, 2026
He says that due to the weather and them standing in the field at all times, his body goes cold and unfunctional. But I guess he didn’t know about his body before the season started.
Before the season began, Chisholm set a bold goal targeting a 50-50 season mark. That milestone has only been reached by one person, and he is none other than Shohei Ohtani. Chisholm said, “Why not shoot for the stars and land on the moon,” citing that he will do his best for the 50-50 but will surely be better than the 2025 season.
But even that doesn’t seem to be the case.
In 2025, Jazz Chisholm Jr. finished the season with a .242 average but had 31 homers and 31 stolen bases and became the 4th Yankees player to do so after Alfonso Soriano and Bobby Bonds. Chisholm was on cloud 9 after that season and made sure that everyone knew about it.
That is when he went out and talked about his contract. With his contract up after the 2026 season, Jazz Chisholm Jr says that he will take nothing less than a $250 million contract. He said, “What did I tell you last year? $300 million? It’s probably bigger than that now, probably $35 million… I’m 28. I want 8-10 years.”
Despite all his demands, a little cold is what is holding him back. And as Kay said, the Yankees do make the postseason and play in October, the temperature is going to be around 51-65 degrees. But if we keep the criticism aside, the New York Yankees actually need him to fire.
The Yankees need Jazz Chisholm Jr. to start hitting like in 2025
This isn’t just about his career and his contract, but if the New York Yankees want to go deep into the postseason, they need Jazz Chisholm Jr. to start hitting.
We all know that the Yankees’ top order is loaded with Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton. But as you go lower in the order, the power starts to disappear quickly. And this is exactly the gap that was exposed during the Athletics game.
Jeffrey Springs of the Athletics almost pitched a no-hitter for the Athletics, but gave up a single to Ben Rice in the 7th inning. Other than that, none of the other batters even got on base by getting a hit. He finished the game with 7 innings, 1 hit, and no earned runs. The bullpen also continued the same and gave up no hits.
Only 4 Yankees batters had a wRC+ above 100. The dropoff comes from Trent Grisham, who is batting with a 95 wRC+. After him, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon, and José Caballero all remain under 60 wRC+. This shows that multiple players are making very low contributions with the bat, and this adds a lot of pressure on the top hitters.
The concerns deepen when you look at the batters below Jazz like Ryan McMahon. McMahon has 2 hits and 2 RBIs in the whole season and an average of .069. And those 2 hits are singles and not extra bases. He has not hit a ball over 300 feet since the opening series against San Francisco. What makes things even worse for Chisholm is his underlying metrics.
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s exit velocity has seen a dip to 87.7 MPH, and his hard hit percentage is just 29.6%. Those numbers sit below his career marks of 89.7 MPH and 41.9%. This shows that overall, the Yankees’ infielder is simply not able to make contact and get on base.
The New York Yankees cannot expect Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to cover every offensive gap alone. If Jazz Chisholm Jr. continues this form, even strong pitching performances will keep going wasted.
