Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr. Laments Struggles, Talks Looming MLB Free Agency Market

Coming off the best season of his career in 2025, New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. has struggled his way through 2026 so far.

Speaking to The Athletic's Chris Kirschner about his season to this point, Chisholm didn't have an explanation for what has been going wrong.

"If I knew, I would already have fixed the problem," Chisholm said. "Even when I think I'm getting going hitting, it's still an out. I'm still hitting it right at someone. I can hit it 107 (mph) and still hit it right at someone."

One thing Chisholm did dismiss was the notion that his looming free agency after this season is impacting his game.

"I don't think free agency has weighed on me more than just me not playing well," Chisholm said. "That's all I want to do. It doesn't matter if it was a free-agent year or my first year in the league. I still just want to play well and play to the best of my ability. I know that's not happening."

After an 0-for-4 performance with three strikeouts in Thursday's 1-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners, Chisholm's slash line sits at .216/.296/.391 in 443 plate appearances.

Chisholm was an All-Star in 2025 after hitting .242/.332/.481 with 31 homers and 31 stolen bases. He became the first Yankees player with a 30-30 season since Alfonso Soriano in 2003.

The 28-year-old was feeling very confident coming into this season that he threw out the possibility of going 50-50 in 2026 during spring training.

Instead, Chisholm is among many Yankees regulars who have struggled at the plate this season. They have had to play most of the year without Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton due to injuries. Cody Bellinger has been out since July 25 due to a strained hamstring.

The Yankees (68-53) have maintained a hold on the No. 1 wild card spot in the AL, but their odds of winning the AL East look slim now that they are 6.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays with 41 games remaining.

New York's pitching staff is more than capable of leading the team on a deep playoff run, but the lineup will have to step up to get the Yankees back to the World Series for the second time in three years.