BOSTON — Jazz Chisholm Jr. made his New York Yankees debut Sunday night against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, one day after he was acquired from the Miami Marlins for three minor leaguers.
Chisholm arrived at the ballpark about 90 minutes before the first pitch and was penciled into the lineup batting fifth and playing center field. Wearing No. 13, he went 1-for-5 with a single and scored a late run in the Yankees’ 8-2 victory.
“I was super excited,” Chisholm said about putting on a Yankees uniform. “Every kid dreams of being a Yankee; it’s the most famous team in baseball that Derek Jeter played on, if you know what I mean. Everybody’s favorite player was Derek Jeter growing up. I had him as an owner [with the Marlins], so I just feel it was right to come up and put on a uniform.”
Chisholm jumped right into the action after arriving later than he planned.
“The flight, we stayed in the air an extra hour; the drive over here we were in the car for an extra 30 minutes because of the traffic,” he said. “It was a lot of stops into getting here. I got here, put on the uniform and went out and played.”
Chisholm said Yankees manager Aaron Boone called him Saturday and asked if playing right away would be too much.
“Right now, I’ve got him in the middle of the order,” Boone said about 40 minutes before Chisholm arrived. “I kind of see him there right now, especially the way [Alex Verdugo], I feel like, is starting to swing the bat.”
Asked how he decided on No. 13, Chisholm said: “There was no single digits available,” referring to the Yankees’ rich history with retired numbers.
Then he explained it was because Alex Rodriguez wore it.
“It was only right to find the number that I adored as a kid, watching A-Rod,” Chisholm said.
An All-Star second baseman in 2022, the 26-year-old Chisholm has played center field for most of the past two seasons. He batted .249 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs for Miami this year, and he is a .246 career hitter with 66 homers and 205 RBIs in five seasons.
Boone said Chisholm — who notched his 23rd stolen base Sunday night, matching a career high — also could bat leadoff.
“We’ll just see how it all shakes out,” Boone said. “The biggest thing with him getting in today, I wanted to get him starting to work in the dirt, in the infield, but I felt like just getting in, I’d put him in the outfield for today.”
Gleyber Torres is New York’s every-day second baseman, though he can become a free agent after the World Series.
Boone said if Chisholm plays the infield for the Yankees this year, it probably will be at third base — a position he has never played in the majors.
“I want him to start working there. It’s not something he’s played, obviously. He came up as a shortstop. I feel like he has the skill set to do it,” Boone said of Chisholm. “I know he’s open to doing it, but I want to see how that looks.
“Excited to have him. We’re a better team today, a better roster with him here.”
To open a spot for Chisholm, infielder J.D. Davis was designated for assignment. Davis went 2-for-19 (.105) with one RBI and nine strikeouts in seven games for New York after being acquired from the Oakland Athletics on June 23.
Boone also said slugger Giancarlo Stanton remains on track to come off the injured list Monday at the Philadelphia Phillies. Stanton hasn’t played since straining his left hamstring while running the bases on June 22.