CLEVELAND — Jazz Chisholm Jr. has given up his body to make some sparkling plays on defense this season.
On Monday night, he bailed on a soft liner hit to second base because there was something more concerning flying his way out of the corner of his eye: a broken bat.
The play turned into an RBI single for Brayan Rocchio in the Yankees’ 6-4 loss to the Guardians at Progressive Field, but Chisholm was not second-guessing himself.
“That’s a tough one,” he said.
“I want to make every play out there for my guy, but at the same time, you don’t want to die. You got a sharp object coming your way. I’ve seen guys get stabbed with broken bats in person, so I know how bad the injury can be. The toughest thing to do as a baseball player right now is to stay on the field. So at the same time, we got to protect ourselves when we’re playing out there, especially when stuff like that is happening.”
Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Cleveland Guardians.AP
Chisholm is speaking from experience, having been hit in the calf by a broken bat when he was playing shortstop at High-A.
He also said he has seen it happen to other fielders when he was with the Marlins.
A similar play happened this weekend in Tampa, when Aaron Judge hit a broken-bat grounder to third base and the Rays’ Junior Caminero did not field it because the shard of wood was flying his way.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacts as a piece of broken bat flies toward him during the Yankees’ game April 21.Screengrab via X/@UnderdogMLB
Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio (4) hits an RBI single during the fourth inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field.IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“That’s why I’m a little bit more cautious about going after balls when the bat’s in the same lane,” said Chisholm, who later crushed a two-run homer, his seventh of the season.
The phone call did not end with Aaron Judge getting credited with an eighth home run.
But other than that, Aaron Boone seemed to appreciate his phone call with Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations, on Monday to express his frustration with umpires (and a subsequent crew chief review) calling Judge’s deep fly ball Sunday at Steinbrenner Field a foul instead of what the Yankees manager believed to be a fair home run.
“[Hill] just said, ‘Hey, it was a tough call,’ ” Boone said at Progressive Field before opening a series against the Guardians. “Obviously being not in a major league park without the third deck complicates it and all that. Just said it was a tough call, which obviously it was I guess.”
Boone had been incredulous on Sunday that the call on the field was not overturned, saying, “The audacity of the call standing is remarkable.”
Aaron Judge reacts after striking out during the Yankees’ game
against the Guardians on April 21.AP
But after reviewing all relevant angles, the replay official could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory.
And it was not for a lack of cameras because of the Rays playing at the Yankees spring training home, as a source said the array of cameras at the stadium, including those with high-frame rates, was equal to other venues.
Judge pointed to the shorter foul poles as not helping the umpires make the proper determination of fair or foul on the field, though it was not immediately clear whether that issue might be addressed at Steinbrenner Field.
In the interim, Boone credited Hill for hearing him out — as he often has over the years whenever the Yankees manager has had issues with umpires.
“I will say, Mike is tremendous,” Boone said. “I try to be respectful, even when I’m getting a little heated. But he’s really good at giving you the forum and the floor to speak and talk. He gives thoughts back to you. He’s usually very accountable as far as, ‘Hey, we should have done better there,’ or, ‘No, I think you’re wrong.’ ”
The Yankees were initially thinking Marcus Stroman could get ramped back up fairly quickly to return from the injured list before long.
But 10 days after his last start, Stroman is still experiencing some issues with his left knee and does not sound particularly close to coming back.
“He’s still feeling some things in there, so he hasn’t — he threw, but it’s still kind of clearing the path for him,” Boone said. “Because he was still feeling some things in there.”
Stroman’s placement on the 15-day injured list with knee inflammation coincided with Clarke Schmidt’s return from the IL, so the Yankees did not need to fill a hole in the rotation.
But their depth beyond their current five starters is shaky — and that is with Carlos Carrasco still trying to prove he has enough left in the tank to at least get the Yankees to June, which is the earliest Luis Gil could return from his high-grade lat strain.
The 33-year-old Stroman, who is making $18.5 million this season, has an $18 million vesting option for 2026 that triggers if he pitches 140 innings this season — which would become more unlikely the longer he stays on the IL.
“I know there’s probably some nerve stuff in there that was irritating it a little bit,” Boone said. “We’ll continue to work to try to get him physically where he needs to be and then hopefully start building him back up.”
Ben Rice (elbow contusion) was out of the lineup for a second straight game, but he took batting practice on the field and then pinch-hit in the ninth inning, grounding out against Cade Smith.
Boone said he expects to have Rice back in the lineup on Tuesday.
“He had a good day,” Boone said.
The red-hot Trent Grisham was placed on the paternity list Monday, with infielder Jorbit Vivas called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take his roster spot until he returns (which could be as late as Friday).
With Grisham gone and Rice still out, Judge got a second straight day at DH while Pablo Reyes drew the start in right field.
DJ LeMahieu (calf strain) will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday with Double-A Somerset. … Jonathan Loáisiga (elbow surgery) is scheduled to throw one more live batting practice session on Wednesday before beginning a rehab assignment on Saturday with Single-A Tampa. … Giancarlo Stanton (tennis elbows) has started running, Boone said, but is still just hitting off the Trajekt pitching machine.
