NEW YORK — The Yankees are not facing a simple contract call with Jazz Chisholm Jr. They are staring at a roster decision that could reshape the middle infield.
The infielder will earn $10.2 million this season after avoiding arbitration with New York. He can reach free agency after 2026, making this season a test of both production and long-term value.
Chisholm has a real case. He hit .242 with 31 homers, 80 RBIs and 31 steals in 2025. This year, he is at .226 with 12 homers, 33 RBIs and 23 steals so far.
Projections believe Chisholm is on pace for 25 homers and 48 steals this season, while also carrying a 32% strikeout rate. That split explains why his free agency has become more complicated than his athletic profile suggests
No contract certainty yet
Chisholm remains one of the most explosive players in the Yankees lineup. He also remains one of their most complicated long-term choices.
The issue is not whether Chisholm can change a game. It is whether the Yankees want to pay superstar money for a player whose production, strikeout rate and occasional lapses have left evaluators split.
Chisholm said in March he would seek $35 million annually over eight to 10 years. That type of ask would push the second baseman into a tier usually reserved for franchise anchors.
The Yankees also have to protect money for the pitching staff, bullpen depth and lineup balance. A second baseman seeking a deal worth well above $250 million has to remove doubt.
No one believes Chisholm can get that figure from Hal Steinbrenner. That makes a departure realistic if Chisholm does not lower the target.
Bob Klapisch of NJ Media reported Friday that the Yankees already have a fallback if Chisholm leaves after the season.
Yankees’ Chisholm Plan B
According to Bob Klapisch, the club favors moving Anthony Volpe away from shortstop, likely to second base, which would create a path for George Lombard Jr. to take over at shortstop.
Volpe’s role sits at the center of that fallback plan. He entered 2026 as a shortstop whose defense had carried him before his bat caught up. Now, the equation has shifted.
Klapisch reported that Volpe’s .260 average marks a major jump from last year’s .212. That improvement gives the Yankees a reason to keep his bat in the lineup even if they decide his arm no longer fits best at shortstop.
The defensive concern is specific. Klapisch reported that Volpe’s release point has dropped to a low three-quarter slot, causing rushed throws to tail and sink. That is a jarring development for a player who won a Gold Glove in 2023 and became a rookie symbol of the organization’s future.
Klapisch quoted one scout who said the regression has become clear.
“(Volpe’s) defense is definitely going backwards.”
Second base could give Volpe a cleaner path. The shorter throw would lessen the pressure on his arm and allow the Yankees to preserve the offensive gains that have changed how they view him. At Yankee Stadium, his homegrown status still matters to fans.
Lombard’s injury slows, not ends, the succession plan
Lombard is the other half of the equation. Klapisch reported that Lombard was batting .306 with a .998 OPS at Triple-A in June before landing on the injured list with a hand injury. MLB.com reported that he exited a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre game on June 16 after hurting his left hand on a stolen-base play.
Lombard has a .258 average, eight homers, 25 RBIs, 12 steals and an .833 OPS across 233 at-bats this season. MLB Pipeline has ranked him as the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 18 prospect in baseball.
That does not make Lombard a lock to open 2027 at shortstop. The Yankees still need to see health, Triple-A consistency and major league readiness. A rookie shortstop on a contending roster carries risk.
But the structure is now visible. If Chisholm stays on a more team-friendly deal, the Yankees can keep him at second and revisit the infield later. If he leaves, Volpe to second and Lombard to short gives the front office a cleaner payroll path and a new defensive alignment.
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