Jazz Chisholm Jr. Talks Yankees Contract, Says Winning AL MVP Award Is More Important Than Money

Heading into his final season of arbitration before hitting free agency, New York Yankees Jazz Chisholm Jr. isn't sweating his contract status.

Speaking to reporters from spring training on Wednesday, Chisholm said his primary motivations for 2026 are winning AL MVP and helping the Yankees win the World Series more than focusing on his contract.

It wasn't entirely certain that Chisholm would be back with the Yankees in 2026. The team entertained trade offers for the two-time All-Star in the offseason, but nothing came of that as they look to build a World Series roster for this season.

Chisholm and the Yankees avoided arbitration when he signed a one-year, $10.2 million deal on Jan. 9. He nearly doubled his salary from 2025 ($5.9 million) coming off the best year of his career.

The 28-year-old hit .242/.332/.481 with a career-high 31 homers and 31 stolen bases. He was one of seven players to go 30-30 in 2025 and has talked about his goal of going 40-40 in the future.

Winning AL MVP is a tall task, especially playing on the same team as Aaron Judge, but Chisholm was a top-15 player in the junior circuit by WAR last season. It wouldn't take a huge leap for him to get into the very top-tier group.

A World Series title might be in closer reach for Chisholm. The Yankees tied the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL lead with 94 wins last season, but finished second in the division race due to head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Yankees won 94 games in 2025 despite not having Gerrit Cole all year due to Tommy John surgery. He will return at some point this season, joining a deep rotation with Cam Schlittler, Max Fried and Carlos Rodón.