Jazz Chisholm Jr. Has Interesting Excuse For His Poor Start

Jazz Chisholm entered 2026 talking about chasing a 50-home-run, 50-stolen-base season. 

Through 16 games, he has no home runs, three doubles, 19 strikeouts against three walks, and a .180 batting average. 

When reporters asked about it, he gave them an answer that might have been honest but was probably a mistake to say out loud: it's cold, he can't feel the bat, and he warms up when the weather does. 

"My swing feels great," Chisholm said. "When you step into that cold weather and you stand there a couple of innings, your body starts to freeze. I'm not using that as an excuse. I said the same thing last year. As soon as the weather heats up, I heat up. That's what it is." 

Jazz Chisholm Jr. says he doesn't know if the game-ending run would have scored if he had gotten the out at 1B first, and then gotten the second out of the double play at second

(via @YESNetwork) pic.twitter.com/OnImRZiZwi

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 12, 2026

The Statcast numbers back up the struggle in a more granular way than the slash line alone, as he ranks in the sixth percentile in expected weighted on-base average, 11th in expected batting average, and his average exit velocity sits at 87.8 mph. 

He was benched in the final game of a series against the Athletics, which the Yankees lost, and then went 0-for-4 in the opener against Tampa Bay as New York dropped five of six. 

A Walk Year With the Worst Possible Timing

This is Chisholm's last season under contract, and the Yankees have made no move toward an extension. The front office hasn't extended players in years, as the Aaron Hicks mistake in 2019 left a mark, and with George Lombard Jr., their top prospect at just 20, projecting as a long-term option in the infield, there's a real organizational argument for letting Chisholm play out the year and moving on. 

Chisholm averaged 4.4 fWAR last season, hit 31 home runs, stole 31 bases, and won a Silver Slugger. He is, on his best days, the most complete second baseman in the sport. But his postseason track record with New York is a .571 OPS across two Octobers, and he was better known for complaining about his lineup spot than anything he did at the plate in those games. 

Aaron Boone says he thinks Jazz Chisholm Jr. knows the rules. Boone says Jazz just gave a "default answer" with reporters in front of him https://t.co/5bmCktkK35 pic.twitter.com/hewlRhzZaA

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 12, 2026

A slow April he can survive. A slow April paired with a public statement that he performs poorly in cold weather, in a city where October baseball regularly dips below 50 degrees, is the kind of thing that follows a player into contract negotiations. 

The Bigger Question Underneath the Slump

The Yankees are hitting .202 as a team, 28th in baseball, so this is not purely a Chisholm story. 

Ryan McMahon is at .114. Jose Caballero can't hit. Austin Wells hasn't consistently hit in two seasons. The bottom third of the lineup has been genuinely bad, and Chisholm is the one being asked about it because he's the name, the walk year, and the one who gave an answer that reporters can quote. 

He told the media to question him again if he's still sitting without a home run after 40 games. Last year, he started just as cold, finished slashing .242/.333/.481, and hit 31 home runs, 80 RBIs, and stole 31 stolen bases. 

The difference is that last year, nobody had a soundbite of him saying he can't hit in cold weather. Now they do, and October in New York tends to be exactly that.

Photo Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images