Jazz Chisholm Jr. is currently on the injured list with a thumb sprain, but Aaron Boone said he is close to returning.
Chisholm himself said after his injury that he would be back in time to play in some regular-season games. According to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, Boone said Chisholm is "doing well" and should be activated on the next homestand. The next, and final, Yankees homestand starts on Tuesday with the Tampa Bay Rays coming to town.
Chisholm has had a down year after posting a 30-30 season last year. However, right before his injury, he was in the middle of a great stretch, looking more and more like his All-Star self. Dating back to Aug. 4, Chisholm had a .295/.388/.443 slash line with three home runs, two doubles, a triple, 10 stolen bases and 10 RBIs.
Between then and the time he got injured, he was second on the team in walk rate, had the fourth-best strikeout rate, had the second-best batting average, had the third-best OPS and had the best hard-hit rate.
If he can come back and pick back up where he left off, the Yankees are going to be in great shape. However, they have some decisions to make. Anthony Volpe has looked like a completely different hitter since being called up after his demotion. He has been playing second base since Chisholm got hurt, but he has a strong case to stay in the lineup.
The Yankees need all the offense they can get with Aaron Judge back on the injured list. Could they move Chisholm back to third base, benching Ryan McMahon? Chisholm has always been a team player, and even though his defense at third base is not as good as McMahon's, if the Yankees want him and Volpe in the lineup, that could be the way to do it. Volpe could also play third base, but only has limited action there, all coming during his demotion.