Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s 2026 season has not matched the kind of breakout he talked about coming in, and that matters now because free agency is right around the corner. Instead of setting himself up for a huge payday, the Yankees infielder is staring at a market that looks a lot colder after a rough year.
The Athletic’s Tim Britton put a number on what that next deal could look like, and it’s not the kind of figure Chisholm was hoping to hear. Britton projected a shorter-term contract in the four-year range, with annual value somewhere between $20 million and $25 million.
“I would expect teams would be interested in multi-year deals for Chisholm, but probably in the four-year range (and maybe between $20 million and $25 million per year),” Britton writes.
That kind of projection would still be a solid deal by MLB standards, but it lands as a disappointment for a player with All-Star upside. Britton also made clear that there’s still a condition attached to that estimate: “This entire paragraph, I should acknowledge, does require Chisholm to break out of this slump sometime between now and the end of the Yankees’ season.”
Through 116 games this season, Chisholm has put up 0.7 bWAR with 17 homers, a .214 batting average and a .677 OPS. That’s a steep fall from last year’s .813 OPS, and it’s the first time in a full season that he’s been under .728 OPS.
For Chisholm, the timing couldn’t be much worse. His production has faded, the Yankees have missed it in the lineup, and his next contract is being shaped by the downturn. If he doesn’t turn things around before the season ends, that $20 million-a-year range may end up looking generous.
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