Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s run with the Yankees may be nearing its end, and Aaron Boone’s handling of him before Game 3 of the ALDS made that feel even more obvious.
Chisholm Jr. already had reason to be frustrated earlier in the postseason. In the AL Wild Card Series, Boone made a point of speaking to him before Game 1 against Payton Tolle of the Boston Red Sox, letting him know he wouldn’t be starting but could still be needed in a key spot later in the game. The Yankees won that one, and the moment faded into the background.
This time was different.
After a messy Game 2 filled with Yankees errors, Boone went with a new look for what could be the final game of New York’s season. Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon both found themselves on the bench. And unlike the earlier conversation in the Wild Card round, Boone did not pull Chisholm aside to explain the move.
Aaron Boone said he did not talk to Jazz Chisholm Jr. about the lineup change for today’s game.
- Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) October 7, 2026
That decision says plenty on its own. Boone had used the same eight-righty lineup in the first two games of the series, so changing course for Game 3 looked like an acknowledgment that something had gone wrong. But leaving Chisholm in the dark while making the switch suggested something even bigger: Boone may no longer view him as part of the solution, even against right-handed pitching.
Chisholm Jr. has never been a quiet bystander type. He doesn’t like platoons, and he doesn’t like sitting in playoff games.
When the team is winning, he seems more willing to live with it. When the team is losing, the frustration shows.
Now the question is whether he gets back into the game at all as a pinch runner or pinch hitter. If he doesn’t, this could be the last time he wears pinstripes. And if that’s the case, the next time he’s in front of a microphone, the questions are going to come fast.
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