The New York Yankees are now speaking out regarding the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade rumors circling baseball this winter.
As of Monday afternoon, the Yankees were the only team in the American League East not to make a major roster move in the offseason.
Pressure is slowly building up on the organization to shake things up, and many are wondering what this pressure could mean for Chisholm’s time in the Bronx.
Of course, Chisholm will be a free agent this time next year, so his future with the organization may not last much longer. However, general manager Brian Cashman appears to be drawing his line in the sand on a potential deal.
“We have really good players on this roster, and we are covered in most areas that you need to be covered,” Cashman told Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “Then you peel the onion a little bit. So I think those players, individually, are all part of the solution rather than a problem.
But I would call that a challenge trade. So we are open-minded to challenge trades on a lot of our talented players because, yes, we are left-handed. That is a problem. Is it a problem that can be solved in the near term, or does it have to try to get solved over time?”
Kirschner clarified that a “challenge trade” is essentially a swap of major league talent between two or more teams. For example, the Brandon Nimmo trade to Texas for Marcus Semien would be considered a challenge trade.
Breaking down Cashman’s long-winded answer, it appears as if Chisholm won’t be going anywhere soon. Not only because challenge trades, in his opinion, are hard to pull off, but also because of the part about being solved over time. If New York lets Chisholm walk in free agency next winter, that’s one less left-handed bat the team now has on the roster.
Of course, anything can happen, and Cashman’s word salad doesn’t necessarily mean a trade is off the table. However, it seems more likely than not that Chisholm will stay in the Bronx for next season.
