The Yankees have a second-base problem on their hands, and it is shaping up to be one of the more important items on their offseason board. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is headed toward free agency this winter, and most reports suggest New York will let him leave. That puts the focus squarely on how the club replaces a player whose speed, power and defense gave him a rare profile, even in a down year.
The free-agent alternatives are there, but they come with caveats. Brandon Lowe and Luis Arraez will both be available, yet neither brings Chisholm’s kind of threat once they get moving on the bases. Both are also older than Chisholm, which makes long-term money a tougher sell for a Yankees team that appears to be weighing cost, consistency and possibly attitude concerns.
If the Yankees want a different route, the trade market may offer a better fit. The Miami Marlins could make second baseman Xavier Edwards available this offseason if the price is right, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently reported that the Yankees have “greatly liked” Edwards for years.
Edwards checks a lot of boxes New York needs filled. The Yankees did not have a reliable table setter in their 2026 lineup, and while the offense packed plenty of power, the team’s collective on-base percentage was among the worst in the league. That issue only got worse after Aaron Judge’s injury, and too many rallies died on empty or unproductive plate appearances, especially strikeouts.
That is where Edwards becomes so appealing. The 27-year-old switch-hitter is a middle infielder who compensates for limited pop with strong strike-zone control.
In 2026, he hit .280, struck out only 83 times in 595 plate appearances, and posted a career-best 68 walks. He finished with a .360 on-base percentage and a 24.4% chase rate, a blend of contact skill and discipline that makes him a tough out.
He also brings speed, which matters for a Yankees team trying to replace Chisholm’s impact. Edwards has stolen 79 bases in 95 attempts over the last three seasons, an 83% success rate.
In 2026, he went 21-for-26 on stolen-base attempts. Chisholm had 41 steals in 50 tries last season, so Edwards would help preserve that element of the offense.
There are real limitations, though. Edwards offers almost no power, with only six home runs, and he had not homered again since May 19.
His defense is also something the Yankees would have to sort through. He struggled badly at shortstop, then moved to second base in 2025 and looked excellent there with 9 Outs Above Average and 7 Fielding Run Value, according to Baseball Savant.
That slipped in 2026, when he finished at -2 OAA and -1 FRV.
The bigger hurdle is the cost. Edwards is under club control through 2030, which gives the Marlins plenty of leverage in trade talks.
Sherman speculated that Anthony Volpe might have to be included in a deal, and that would be a tough ask for New York. Volpe appears to have a clearer path with the Yankees after settling in at second base, and his improved offense late in the season only strengthens that case.
Even so, Edwards is the more established offensive player right now.
The Yankees have shown before that they are willing to pay a steep price for years of control. They gave up two top-15 prospects to land Heliot Ramos at the trade deadline because he does not reach free agency until 2030, the same year Edwards does. If they were willing to pay that kind of freight for a player used mostly as a platoon bat, they should have reason to go after a player who more directly matches a need.
Edwards alone would not solve everything. Third base still needs attention, and the Yankees also need help at catcher and in the bullpen. But if New York wants a young table-setter who can give Ben Rice and Aaron Judge better RBI chances, Edwards makes sense as a priority target.
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What makes Weathers interesting now is the role the Yankees might ask of him next. He has been viewed as a possible bullpen fit or even a trade piece, a reminder that New York is juggling rotation depth against the need to rebuild the relief corps, all while factoring in injury risk and the free-agent departures looming over the staff. The decision on Weathers may say as much about the Yankees pitching blueprint as it does about the pitcher himself. [Read more 🡒]