Jazz Chisholm Jr. is more positive than anyone these days, and he may have even more cause to be. The uncertainty surrounding his injured left elbow — and the likelihood that he would need surgery to mend it — has evolved dramatically in the last 48 hours.
Just how much?
“It’s 100% realistic in my mind that at the end of the 10 days [on the injured list], I can be back,” Chisholm said Friday before the Yankees’ series start against the Tigers at Comerica Park.
Manager Aaron Boone wasn’t quite ready to make things official, but he echoed Chisholm’s optimism, saying, “I would say the early signs here in the first couple days have at least been encouraging.”
Following a pre-Deadline deal with the Marlins that sent him from the bottom of one division to the top of another, the former top prospect has provided the Yankees with an early return on their investment, batting.316/.361/.702 with 11 RBIs in 14 games. He also became the first Yankee to blast seven home runs in his first 12 games with the club.
Chisholm’s injury on Monday, incurred as he slid into home plate to score from second base in a 12-2 loss to the White Sox, was difficult to take. However, X-rays came back negative, and when an MRI confirmed a sprain but no tear, Chisholm was eager to return.
“It’s not his throwing arm, and it’s his top hand on the swing, which is better,” Boone pointed out. “Hopefully, when he starts ramping up, everything goes smoothly, he’s fine, and we avoid surgery. But you need to get there to find out.”
If Chisholm had his way, he’d be swinging a bat again. As it stands, he expects to start swinging “in the next day or two.”
“My understanding is that we’re going to go on how I feel, how my body feels, and right now, my body’s reacting really well to all the treatment that we’re doing,” she added. “… I’m fortunate that it isn’t a serious injury and is as little as it is right now.”
It’s natural that the Yankees’ third baseman badly wants to continue to show what he can do, but he also recognizes that he’s too vital to lose long-term at such a key moment in the season.
Chisholm also received sound advise from teammates who are experienced in the stretch run and beyond.
“The first day [of the injury] was really tough,” Chisholm admits. “Until [Aaron] Judge and [Juan] Soto and the others approached me and said, ‘Hey, we’d rather you take 10 days off instead of coming back and playing today. Make sure you’re correct, then come back and help us go to October and win in October.”
