The Yankees’ trade deadline plans took a hit this week, and now the front office may have to pivot fast.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is in concussion protocol after he and right fielder Jasson Domínguez collided Monday in New York’s 7-3 loss to the Tigers, leaving Brian Cashman with a bigger hole to fill and less time to fill it. With the Aug. 3 deadline approaching, the Yankees’ need for offense has only grown more urgent, especially with three-time American League MVP Aaron Judge and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton already on the injured list.
That’s pushed Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams into sharper focus as a possible target. He’s one of the more prominent position players being discussed in trade chatter, and the numbers explain why. Abrams ranks third among major league shortstops with 17 home runs and leads the position with an .864 OPS.
The 25-year-old is also on track for a major power jump. ESPN projects him to finish with 32 home runs and 111 RBIs, which would blow past the career highs he set in 2024, when he posted 20 home runs and 65 RBIs and made his first All-Star team.
Abrams would not be a quick fix for one summer only. He’s under team control through 2028, which means Washington would be in position to ask for a serious package in return.
George Lombard Jr., the Yankees’ top-ranked prospect and No. 21 overall, per MLB Pipeline, is viewed as essentially untouchable, but Single-A shortstop Dax Kilby, New York’s No. 2 prospect and No. 63 overall, looks like a more realistic piece to move. The same goes for one of the club’s top pitching prospects, such as right-hander Elmer Rodríguez.
As Joel Sherman wrote in the New York Post on June 13: "Thus, in a year when their rotation in particular provides a chance to win it all, the Yanks have enough near-future cover to consider moving Rodríguez if a needle-moving trade arises,"
For the Yankees, Abrams would clean up a messy infield picture. He’d end the Anthony Volpe-José Caballero shuffle at shortstop, while Caballero and/or Oswaldo Cabrera could handle second base. Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario also have second-base experience, giving Aaron Boone room to juggle third base as needed.
Abrams is not being sold as the next Derek Jeter, but New York’s current infield setup clearly needs a jolt. With Chisholm out indefinitely, the Yankees may need exactly that if they want to shake off their June swoon and stay pointed toward a deep playoff run.
In Other News...
Aaron Boone Had Yankees Fans Bracing For More After Boston Mess
A four-game trip through Fenway left the Yankees with the kind of questions that tend to hang around long after the final out, especially after Boston completed its first sweep of New York since 2018. The loss stung not just because of the rivalry backdrop, but because it fit a much broader pattern: the Yankees have been banged up, inconsistent and unsteady in all the areas that usually keep them afloat.
Aaron Boones postgame tone only added to the unease for a fan base already frustrated by the clubs recent slide and the way it has handled adversity. With the Yankees struggling at the plate, leaking runs on defense and missing key pieces, the focus now shifts from one bad series to whether this group can steady itself quickly enough to keep the season from drifting further off course. [Read more 🡒]
Boone Had The Perfect Response To Another Red Sox Sideshow
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There was still a real baseball result underneath the noise, and it did not favor New York. Boston got seven scoreless innings from Payton Tolle, who later said he had been sick before taking the mound, and the Red Sox used that effort to finish off the Yankees and complete the sweep. For Boone, the optics of the benches-clearing episode were one thing, but the standings impact of another loss to Boston was the part that lingered. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Suddenly Have A Jazz Chisholm Problem They Cant Ignore
Jazz Chisholm Jr. gave the Yankees another uncomfortable moment in the sixth inning against the Red Sox when he was tossed after arguing a check-swing third strike call. It was the kind of flashpoint that can happen in a tense division game, but it also fit a pattern that has begun to follow him around, especially for a player the Yankees are counting on to bring energy without letting it spill over.
Chisholm did not meet with reporters afterward, leaving the reaction to come from elsewhere. Michael Kay called the scene a really bad look on his radio show, and former Yankees teammate Anthony Rizzo described the ejection as a sign of immaturity while noting the spot it left Anthony Volpe in. For a club trying to keep its focus on the bigger picture, the issue is less the ejection itself than the growing number of moments around Chisholm that are forcing the conversation in the wrong direction. [Read more 🡒]