New York Yankees

New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. suffered "three high-grade tears" in his right oblique, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.

The extent of the injury was revealed in an MRI on Thursday, according to Hoch.

The Yankees subsequently placed Chisholm on the injured list retroactive to Wednesday, and manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Friday that Chisholm could miss four to six weeks.

Chisholm suffered the injury during a first-inning at-bat in the Yankees' 15-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. He told reporters on Saturday that the injury feels better than how "it looks on the scan."

"Three. Three different ones," Chisholm said about the tears. "That's why I'm really surprised about where it's at, because it doesn't feel like three. Doesn't even feel like as bad as the first time I tore my oblique two years ago."

Jazz Chisholm Jr. says that an MRI revealed that he suffered three tears in his oblique pic.twitter.com/JVThrxGxV5

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 3, 2025

Chisholm told reporters he's focused on strengthening and core exercises while recovering from the injury.

"Kind of a day-to-day process, right now, just seeing how it feels every day, see if it just keeps getting better every day like how it has been," Chisholm said.

Chisholm said the four-to-six week recovery timeline is "what we're planning on trying to get to, if not before."

Jazz Chisholm Jr. with an update after going on the IL Friday with a right oblique strain carrying a 4-6 week timetable. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/yAqxLErK0i

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) May 3, 2025

Chisholm said after the game that he felt the injury while swinging at a foul ball on the first pitch he faced during Tuesday's game in Baltimore.

He stayed in the game to hit a triple before he was replaced by a pinch runner and taken out at the recommendation of his coaches, per Hoch.

Chisholm has had an inconsistent start to the season so far, slashing .181/.304/.410 with seven home runs through 30 games.

His move to the IL coincided with the recall of infielder Jorbit Vivas from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Vivas, who made his MLB debut on Friday, will get the chance to "play a lot" in Chisholm's absence, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Friday. The infielder is ranked as the No. 19 prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. could miss roughly four to six weeks with an oblique injury, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

The Yankees announced Friday that they placed Chisholm on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain, retroactive to Wednesday.

Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
•Recalled INF Jorbit Vivas (#90) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
•Placed INF Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to 4/30) with a right oblique strain.

— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) May 2, 2025

Chisholm suffered the injury during the first inning of New York's 15-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.

He appeared to be uncomfortable in his first at-bat of the game, holding his side after fouling off the first pitch. Chisholm stayed in and hit a double, but was replaced by a pinch runner on the bases and didn't return.

The 27-year-old wasn't too worried about the oblique issue after the game.

“I’m really not as concerned as everybody else,” Chisholm said, via Hoch. “I feel pretty good. I’ve torn my oblique before, so I know it’s not like torn or anything. I can cough without any pain or anything like that. It’s just to be cautious and not try to overdo it.”

The former All-Star is in the midst of his second year in New York, as the team traded for him in the middle of the 2024 season. Chisholm excelled after the swap, recording 11 home runs and 23 RBIs to go along with an .825 OPS in 46 games following the deal.

Jazz cuts the lead in half with a solo shot!

(via @Yankees)pic.twitter.com/kmR5OiPLzR

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) August 28, 2024

He wasn't off to a hot start to open his 2025 campaign, owning a .181/.304/.410 slash line in 30 appearances despite racking up seven homers.

Until Chisholm is able to return, New York could rely on infielder Jorbit Vivas after calling him up on Friday.

Vivas has recorded 30 hits in 26 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre during his 2025 campaign.

New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain, the team announced Friday.

The move is retroactive to Wednesday. Infielder Jorbit Vivas was recalled from recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take Chisholm's place on the roster.

Chisholm last played on Tuesday. He left the Yankees' 15-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles early after appearing uncomfortable during his first-inning at-bat.

He later said he felt the injury "a little bit" while swinging at a foul ball on the first pitch he faced.

Chisholm went on to record an extra-base hit that turned into a triple thanks to an Orioles error. He was replaced by a pinch runner at third base.

The Yankees infielder said after the game that his coaches had recommended the early exit. MLB.com's Bryan Hoch noted that Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas was the one who signaled to take out Chisholm.

"No time to risk it. It's April, we've still got a lot of baseball left, I'd rather take two to three days off than six weeks," Chisholm said on Tuesday night, per YES Network.

After leaving the game sliding into third base, Jazz Chisholm Jr. will have testing on his right oblique.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/qw5VBKPB0b

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 30, 2025

That timeline apparently changed after Chisholm underwent an MRI, which the Yankees had previously indicated was scheduled for Thursday.

Chisholm has struggled to find consistency at the plate so far this season, batting .181 with a .714 OPS through 30 games. The Yankees will hope he can record more regularly competitive at-bats when he returns from injury.

Chisholm's injury could lead to an MLB debut for Vivas, who was acquired by the Yankees as part of a December 2023 trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has played in 601 career minor league games with no MLB appearances, although this is his third call-up to the majors.

Vivas is batting .319 with a .862 OPS through 26 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre so far this season.

The New York Yankees announced Thursday they moved five-time All-Star Giancarlo Stanton to the 60-day injured list.

In an accompanying move, the team claimed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz off waivers and sent him to its Triple-A affiliate.

Stanton has yet to play this season while dealing with tendinitis in each of his elbows.

In March, he cited "bat adjustments" as a possible contributor to his elbow trouble, which was notable because he began using a "torpedo" bat last season. Regarding his earlier comments, he stopped short of laying any blame on the "torpedo" bat design specifically.

Whatever the cause, the fact remains the date for Stanton's 2025 debut is unclear.

The Bronx Bombers rank first in slugging (.478), wOBA (.362) and wRC+ (137), per FanGraphs. They haven't missed Stanton's bat in the order too much, but Trent Grisham, Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice could be headed for some regression after far outplaying their projections so far.

De La Cruz, meanwhile, is unlikely to provide much pop if he gets called up to the majors. He had a .191/.240/.213 slash line in 50 plate appearances with the Atlanta Braves this year.

New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. will not be forced to miss time for his NSFW social media post earlier this month.

Per Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, MLB dropped Chisholm's one-game suspension for his ejection against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 18 and subsequent violation of its social media policy following his appeal. His fine reportedly was maintained.

Chisholm was ejected by plate umpire John Bacon in the eighth inning of the Yankees' 6-3 win over the Rays when he argued a called third strike on a pitch from Rays reliever Mason Montgomery that appeared low. It was the first time he was ejected from a game with the Yankees and the fifth ejection of his career.

After being removed from the game, Chisholm tweeted, "Not even f--king close" before deleting the post.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was ejected from the game after this strike three call pic.twitter.com/z4TyCAsCis

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 18, 2025

Blum explained that MLB's social media policy prohibits "displaying or transmitting content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a major league umpire." Also, players are banned from using electronic devices during games under league rules.

"I didn’t think before I had anything that I said was ejectable but after probably," Chisholm said after his ejection. "I’m a competitor, so when I go out there and I feel like I’m right and you’re saying something to me that I think doesn’t make sense, I’m going to get fired up and be upset."

Chisholm was allowed to continue playing while his appeal delayed any penalties from MLB. In 28 games, he's hitting just .178 with seven home runs and 17 RBI.

The Yankees improved to 17-11 after sweeping Sunday's doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays and will look to keep the momentum going when they visit the Baltimore Orioles (10-17) for Monday's series opener.

The New York Yankees plan to remove Devin Williams from his role as the team's closer and instead turn to Luke Weaver, manager Aaron Boone said on Sunday, per ESPN's Jorge Castillo.

Boone said Williams will not be the team's closer "for right now," leaving the door open for his return to the role eventually.

"He's still got everything to be great, right? This is a guy that is in the prime of his career and he's just going through it a little bit," Boone said of Williams. "I tell our players all the time, you make a career that's long enough and you're going to face some challenging moments. You're going to face some adversity along the way. And good news for Devin is he's got everything to get through this and come out better on the other side. And that's my expectation.

"But, for right now, I think it's best for everyone that we pull him out of that role and try and start building some good rhythm and confidence and momentum and fully expect him to be a central figure for us moving forward."

Williams, whom the Yankees acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, has an 11.25 ERA and four saves across eight innings in 10 appearances. The former Rookie of the Year is on pace for career-worst numbers in strikeout rate (18.2%), whiff rate (24.1%) and walk rate (15.9%).

Williams gave up three earned runs in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays last week before giving up three runs in Friday's loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

According to Castillo, Boone said he won't have a specific role for Williams as he tries to overcome his early struggles.

Amid Williams' struggles, Weaver has thrived to start the year. He's recorded 13 strikeouts with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP in 13 innings across 11 games. He also has a pair of saves. In his second season with New York a year ago, Weaver had career bests in ERA (2.89) and WHIP (0.93), posting a 7-3 record and four saves in 62 appearances.

While Weaver will move primarily into a closer role, Boone said he's still willing to look to the pitcher in high-leverage moments early in games, according to Castillo.

Even with Williams' struggles to start the season, the Yankees sit atop the AL East at 15-11 and have posted the ninth-best bullpen ERA in the majors.

After another rough outing on Friday night, Devin Williams could lose his job as closer for the New York Yankees.

Speaking to reporters following a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said "we'll see" when asked if he would keep Williams in the closer's role.

"We'll have a talk through that stuff," Boone added. "This is raw right now. We want to do everything we can to get him right because we know how good he is and how valuable he's going to be for us."

Williams entered in the ninth inning with the Yankees leading 2-1. He allowed three runs on two hits and a hit-by-pitch before being replaced by Mark Leiter Jr. after facing just three hitters.

ENTER KIRKY 🚀 @alejandro_kirk pic.twitter.com/B2dmVnQn4Z

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) April 26, 2025

Friday was the first time Williams has pitched in six days. His previous outing saw him give up four runs (three earned) on three hits and one walk in a 10-8 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on April 19.

Even when Williams hasn't been giving up runs, he's not dominating like he did throughout basically all of his run with the Milwaukee Brewers. The 30-year-old had four straight scoreless outings prior to April 19, but he only struck out three of the 16 batters he faced.

Williams has an 11.25 ERA with nearly as many walks (seven) as strikeouts (eight) in eight innings over 10 appearances. The right-hander has allowed at least three earned runs three times this season, matching his total from the previous six years combined.

The Yankees' acquisition of Williams in the offseason was meant to add more depth to their bullpen after losing Clay Holmes in free agency. It looked like a nice move on paper since he has been one of the most valuable relievers in all of baseball since his debut in 2019.

While it's still early in the season, there are plenty of reasons to be concerned. Williams' average fastball velocity is at 93.2 mph, the lowest of his career and down one full mile per hour from 2024. His whiff (24.1 percent) and strikeout (18.2) percentages are down more than 20 percent compared to last season.

Boone does have reliable options he could go to in the ninth inning if he decides to make a change. Fernando Cruz has a 1.93 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 14 innings. Luke Weaver has yet to allow a run in 13 innings over 11 appearances.

Despite Williams' late-game struggles, the Yankees are sitting in first place in the AL East with a 15-11 record. They are two games up in the loss column on the Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox.

With all respect to New York's resident pair of $1 billion sluggers, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have this all wrong.

With Soto now with the Mets on a 15-year, $765 million contract, it was supposed to be Judge—a $360 million man in his own right—who would be revealed to not be the same without his partner in crime from 2024.

After all, Soto's presence ahead of Judge in the Yankees' lineup did create more opportunities for the latter to bat with a man on base. He saw more pitches to hit accordingly, so of course he went off for a 58-homer, 144-RBI season that netted him his second American League MVP.

By now, though, you've probably heard that it's actually Soto who misses Judge. This is from-the-horse's-mouth stuff, as the first-year Met caused a minor firestorm when he lamented to Mike Puma of the New York Post that things were better for him when he had "the best hitter in baseball" looming in the on-deck circle.

Ever the statesman, Judge had the predictable response of (rightfully) praising Pete Alonso and stating Soto is "going to be just fine."

Notably, what Judge did not do was suggest that longing for the Soto-Judge duo of 2024 is mutual. Which isn't surprising, given how he's swinging the bat early in 2025.

Judge Was Already Great, But This Is Something Else

The only unremarkable number on Judge's line for the season so far is 25, which is how many games he's played in. Nope, nothing extraordinary there.

What is extraordinary is how many statistical categories in which he leads at least the American League:

• Runs: 23
• Hits: 39
• RBI: 26
• AVG: .415
• OBP: .513
• SLG: .734
• OPS: 1.247
• WAR: 2.1

Judge, who will turn 33 years old on Saturday, does not share the major league lead with nine home runs alongside Jared Soderstrom and Cal Raleigh. However, that's basically a fluke.

He had a "foul ball" at Steinbrenner Field that should have been a homer, and his 424-foot triple in Cleveland on Wednesday would have been a homer at 28 out of the league's 30 stadiums.

Judge triples to get us on the board 👊 pic.twitter.com/1ViqsbQOc6

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 23, 2025

There have been better 25-game starts than Judge's throughout MLB history, but to focus just on these games is to miss the point. It's not just that he's hot now, but how hot he's been for how long.

Though it was technically on May 4, 2024 that he went into slump-busting mode after beginning last season on a cool stretch, we can get a 162-game sample if we stretch the timeline back to April 24 of last year.

In this sample, he's tallied 205 hits, 62 home runs and 133 walks. The only other hitter to touch those marks in any 162-game sample is Babe Ruth.

Further, Judge has a 241 wRC+ for his last 162 games. If this was a contained 162-game season, that would sandwich in between Barry Bonds in 2002 (244) and Barry Bonds in 2001 (235) as the second-best hitting season of all time.

When a guy is actively rubbing shoulders with Ruth and Bonds, said guy is pretty much hitting as well as anyone ever has. And that is the case with Judge right now.

Why Soto Misses Judge, But Not Vice Versa

As for what's going on with Soto, it's instructive to consider the entirety of his remarks to Puma.

"I had the best hitter in baseball batting behind me," he said. "I was getting attacked and more pitches in the strike zone, less intentional walks and things like that. I was pitched differently last year."

Should Soto have let this out in public? Probably not. And yet, he's not wrong.

Technically, he is being intentionally walked more, as he already has two IBB in 25 games after drawing two in 157 games in 2024. His rate of pitches in the zone is likewise down, from 46.4 to 44.8 percent.

Yet even if this helps explain why the 26-year-old Soto has a .753 OPS with only three homers, it does not excuse it. The reality is that the Mets are paying him to be more like the guy who had a .989 OPS and 41 homers in 2024. And if another reality is that he's going to be pitched differently, well, it's on him to adjust.

As for Judge, you would expect him to also be seeing fewer pitches in the zone now Soto is gone. Yet the opposite is true. His in-zone percentage is up from 47.9 to 49.3, even as he's seeing pitches with men on base five percent less often.

This is reflective of how Judge is the one in better command of the strike zone in the early goings. He's actually expanding the zone less often than Soto, effectively forcing pitchers to get their strikes by challenging him.

The less nerdy way of putting it is that Judge is the more locked-in hitter of the two. You can certainly intuit as much from their results, but it is nonetheless noteworthy that not even MLB's modern-day Ted Williams has a sharper eye than Judge right now.

There Is the Question of How Long This Can Last

For the Mets, the bright side of Soto's season-opening slumber is a very bright side: It isn't costing them in the win column.

It is indeed impressive that they find themselves atop all of MLB with a 18-7 record even without their prized hitter behaving like, well, a prized hitter. Throw in how Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas have yet to throw a pitch on the other side of the ball, and it's even more remarkable.

It is likely inevitable Soto will get hot, if for no other reason than he usually does after April. Whereas he has a .852 OPS in April for his career, he has at least a .930 OPS in the other five months of the season.

For the Yankees, Judge's scorching bat has been the defining feature of the club's 15-10 start. Yet if not with him, specifically, there is a question of sustainability that hangs over the whole team.

Sans Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, do the Yankees have the talent to lower the rotation's ERA from 4.43? Can they fix Devin Williams, who has a walk-fueled 7.88 ERA as their closer? And if Paul Goldschmidt (.922 OPS) and Ben Rice (1.005 OPS) cool off, do they have anyone else to help Judge carry the lineup?

And this is just the short term, of course. Frankly, there doesn't figure to be much of a long term for Judge vs. Soto discourse. When two players are seven seasonal ages apart, they're all but guaranteed to exit their primes at wildly different times.

Yet with all apologies to Mel Brooks, we're in now now. And the story of the moment is that the Mets are thriving in spite of their superstar hitter, while the Yankees are thriving very much because of their superstar hitter.

When it comes down to it, the only explanation anyone needs is also the simplest: Judge is just that good.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

MLB fined New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and suspended him for one game for his comments about an umpire in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media confirmed the punishment doled out by the league.

Chisholm was called out on strikes on a fastball out of the zone in the top of the seventh. He disputed the call with home plate umpire John Bacon and got ejected.

In a since-deleted post on social media, the 2022 All-Star said the pitch was "not even f--king close."

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was ejected from the game after this strike three call pic.twitter.com/z4TyCAsCis

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 18, 2025

The problems for Chisholm were twofold. He confirmed he sent the post as the game was unfolding, which runs afoul of MLB's rules on the usage of electronic devices during games. The league's social media policy also prohibits players from "displaying or transmitting Content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a Major or Minor League umpire."

A one-game suspension isn't that much within the context of a full season, and the Yankees certainly have the depth to make up for Chisholm's absence.

But the 27-year-old is trying to work his way out of a slow start to the new campaign. He has six homers through 19 games yet is batting .169 with a .272 on-base percentage. Take away the opening series, when New York's hitters collectively blitzed the Milwaukee Brewers, and Chisholm is slugging just .305.

Serving a one-game suspension is a setback—albeit a small one—at a bad time for the veteran infielder.

New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. sounded off on home-plate umpire John Bacon in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

In a since-deleted post on X, Chisholm wrote Bacon's called third strike on him in the seventh inning was "not even f--king close!!!!!"

Jazz Chisholm Jr. hopped on social media after his ejection pic.twitter.com/pSlC3UhJNn

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 18, 2025

Bacon made the call on a pitch from Rays reliever Mason Montgomery that appeared to be low based on the K-zone box on the YES Network broadcast.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was ejected from the game after this strike three call pic.twitter.com/z4TyCAsCis

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 18, 2025

Speaking to reporters after the game, Chisholm said he "got fired up" because he really thought it should have been called a ball. He added he didn't feel like his immediate comments to Bacon warranted an ejection, but "probably after" the signal was made he said some things to justify it.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. addresses the media on getting ejected in the 7th.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/4VmkaX2zgb

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 18, 2025

The social-media post will likely result in discipline from MLB. One of the rules under MLB's policy states league-affiliated employees may not display or transmit content "that contains obscene or sexually explicit language, images, or acts."

This was Chisholm's first time being ejected from a game as a member of the Yankees. He was acquired in a July 2024 trade with the Miami Marlins.

Chisholm is hitting .169/.272/.451 with six homers in 19 games this season. Despite his ejection, the Yankees won their fourth straight game.