The New York Yankees weren’t sure how long Jazz Chisholm would be out with an elbow UCL injury he sustained while sliding at home against the Chicago White Sox. Losing Chisholm amid a hot offensive run was catastrophic for the Yanks, who are battling with the Orioles for division title day in and out.
However, despite the injury being as serious as a UCL category, Jazz Chisholm appeared surprisingly confident of an early return. While New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone downplayed Jazz’s excitement to extend his timeline, the latest roster move suggests that the infielder was right all along about his speedy recovery.
Yankees Make Space At Infield For Jazz Chisholm’s Return From IL
Jazz Chisholm’s record offensive surge hit a bump last week when he injured his elbow while hustling to score a run against the Chicago White Sox. The New York Yankees newly transformed third baseman had seven home runs in 14 games before he was placed on 10-day IL. While surgery for the UCL injury was ruled out, the Yanks expected a minimum of four weeks’ layoff for Jazz since rehabilitation usually takes that much time. However, Chisholm went ahead and announced his return after the mandatory 10-day rest. Jazz’s statements shook the Yankee manager as much as the fans. On the Talkin Yanks podcast, Aaron Boone downplayed the hype and deemed Jazz’s timeline ‘ambitious.’
However, Aaron Boone changed his tone coming into the series finale against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday. He revealed that Jazz Chisholm is getting close to a return but refused to spill out a specific timeline. Having said that, Jazz Chisholm’s optimism is likely to come true as the Yankees announced a major roster move after a 6-0 win against the Guardians. Infield prospect Oswald Peraza, who came in as a replacement for Jazz, has been optioned back to Triple-A, thus vacating a spot in infield depth. Peraza was promoted last week and hit a home run against the Tigers to mark a sensational season debut. However, with Chisholm being eligible for IL activation on Friday, the Yanks had to make space for him. Overall, Chisholm’s recovery from a UCL injury has been phenomenal. The 10-day timeline appeared unachievable, but the slugger made it happen to prove everybody, including his own team, wrong.
Yankees Gain Marginal Lead In AL-East
Meanwhile, the New York Yankees came out all guns blazing against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday to hand a brutal 6-0 defeat. Aaron Judge starred with his 48th season home run before Giancarlo Stanton added to the lead with an authoritative three-run homer. On the other hand, ace Gerrit Cole pitched 6 shutout innings to keep Guardians hitters at bay.
With the much-needed victory, the New York Yankees strengthened its position at the top of the AL-East division with 1.5 game lead over defending division champions, the Baltimore Orioles. The Yanks are in sole possession of AL-East with a 75-53 record and one whole month of the season still left on the cards. As the season progresses, the fight is likely to get more fierce.
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