Miami Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisholm is a 24-year-old left-handed hitter with plus defense, enormous power, and over four more years of team control. He also is one of the most exciting young players in baseball and is the face of the Marlins. When reports surface that his team is unhappy with him off the field, it is easy for fans of other teams to dream about trading for him, especially if off-field concerns reduce his value to even a minuscule degree.
Before going further, it is important to note that the “off-field concerns” with Chisholm are, at least according to all public reports, trivial issues such as the way he dresses and carries himself, rather than any sort of illegal activity. The absurdity of the situation speaks to how Chisholm (at least to an outsider) may not be a fit for the Marlins’ culture, which —consistent with old-school baseball standards — appears to discourage attention to specific individuals over the team as a whole.
In the Jon Heyman article linked in the first paragraph, one of Heyman’s sources suggests that Chisholm’s teammates are simply jealous of the attention Chisholm has received this year and that despite the accusations of off-field issues, Chisholm is a hard worker. Kim Ng, the Marlins’ general manager (and former White Sox assistant baseball operations director) was also quoted in the article:
Marlins GM Kim Ng declined to elaborate further: “Reluctant to provide further detail — happy everyone is responding.”
Ng had a simple explanation for Chisholm’s recent exploits: “He’s good.”
“Red-hot Marlins keeping ‘lightning rod’ Jazz Chisholm in check” — Jon Heyman
While Ng’s quotes are harmless on the surface, it is at least somewhat surprising that neither she nor the Marlins organization issued a stronger statement in support of Chisholm. Many expected a response more along the lines of, “While we cannot provide specific details about the team meeting, we support Jazz Chisholm and are proud that he is a member of the Miami Marlins.” A stronger statement also would have been more effective at protecting Chisholm from future speculation, as having off-field question marks arise around a young player is not ideal, especially when they are seemingly unwarranted and easily preventable.
Where does he fit on the White Sox, and what would they need to acquire him?
Chisholm’s “off-field concerns” appear to be much ado about nothing, and the organization’s lukewarm response to his name being questioned across baseball media warrants discussions about his trade value. Chisholm is hitting .246/.301/.535 with 13 home runs, 41 runs batted in, 10 stolen bases, an .832 OPS, and 132 wRC+. While his on-base skills are slightly below-average, Chisholm is still quite young and has massive power, especially for a second baseman.
From a White Sox-centric view, Chisholm may be one of the best roster fits around. The White Sox would benefit from left-handed power, improved defense, and a mainstay at second base — Chisholm would address all three of these needs. He also has a comparatively low ground ball rate against most White Sox hitters, which would add further versatility to the lineup beyond handedness. Other potential left-handed bats on the trade market are not second basemen, and even those that would still make sense are either riskier outfielders (Jesse Winker, Joey Gallo), low-power bats (Andrew Benintendi), or just underwhelming (David Peralta, Tony Kemp).
As mentioned, Chisholm has over four years of team control remaining. In normal circumstances, a trade for Chisholm at this juncture would require a very compelling headliner such as Andrew Vaughn or Dylan Cease. The White Sox would not trade either player for Chisholm (or anybody), so the only way this hypothetical works is if the Marlins truly are willing to move Chisholm in part due to being a poor fit for the team’s culture.
Even in such an event, Chisholm would still require a very strong trade package. For example, shortstop prospect Colson Montgomery would need to headline from the White Sox. The 2021 first-round draft pick is hitting .301/.408/.476 at just twenty years old for Single-A Kannapolis. There are very few players that the White Sox should consider trading Montgomery for, but Chisholm is one of them.
While Montgomery would be a fine start, the White Sox would probably need to send Miami at least two other significant pieces to even come close to Chisholm’s value. A potential second piece is Lenyn Sosa, a twenty-two-year-old shortstop hitting .341/.392/.565 with a .957 OPS for AA Birmingham. Montgomery and Sosa are the two best trade chips the White Sox have right now, and while it is unlikely that both are traded at the deadline, Chisholm is one of the only players potentially on the market that would command both (and then some) given his years of team control.
Montgomery and Sosa would likely not be enough, however, to secure Chisholm. Miami would certainly have interest from other teams with deeper farm systems, so it would be difficult for the White Sox to pull the move off without a significant third piece and/or subtracting from the MLB roster. Such a maneuver requires creativity and further knowledge of exactly what Miami is looking for in the long run, but somebody like Garrett Crochet or Jake Burger could make sense as an addition to a package with Montgomery and Sosa.
Montgomery, Sosa, and Crochet may seem like a steep price for the White Sox to pay in any trade, but in normal circumstances, it would still likely not be enough for Jazz Chisholm. Even after their recent events, the Marlins still may not be looking to trade Chisholm, whether at a slightly discounted rate or at all. Frankly, he should be viewed as a player to build around in an organization that is extremely pitcher-heavy in terms of talent.
However, the Marlins’ team meeting and ambivalent comments thereafter make it easy to dream about a Tim Anderson-Jazz Chisholm double-play combination. If Chisholm does end up becoming available, the White Sox should pursue him aggressively, as a left-handed, power-hitting, above-average defense second baseman could not be a more perfect fit for the roster.
Featured Photo: © Jasen Vinlove / USA TODAY Sports
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Give up Tony LaRussa
I think you are overstating the value of Jazz. As a hitter, he reminds me of the trash that has patrolled second this year. You say he has power and I look at his numbers. This year, he’s showing power but last year he had 18 homers. I don’t really care about the homers when I see an average hovering around .240 and an OB % of about .300. I prefer picking up Sanchez for second and keeping the prospects. This guy doesn’t excite me. His splits against lefties has been .214 lifetime average. No thanks.
Eh, I firmly believe that pennants are better than prospects but I think you’ve overpriced Jazz
Are there rumblings of the Sox even considering thinking about acquiring him or is this an article of what you think would be a great fit? Not being negative or nasty, just wondering if there have been discussions…i been watching his career with great interest ever since he was a Kane County Cougar.
It’s just that I think he’s a perfect fit, and he *might* be available. Nothing about the White Sox pursuing him that I know of
It won’t let me click on reply for some reason. But to the posts on Happ, the question I have is if he can even play 2b anymore. He’s only played 15 games there since the start of 2020. If he can, then yeah, he would be a great get – and much better than Madrigal. I mean with all the bellyaching about Madrigal, Nick has yet to get through a season without missing significant time. He is on the DL for the 2nd time this year already, and has all of 2 rbi’s and an OPS barely above Garcia. If the Sox had Madrigal, they would have an oft injured 2b who has been hurt half the time since he came up as a rookie, and would arguably be almost no better off than they are now.
I am a big fan of Andrew Vaughn, but I would trade him for Jazz Chisolm in a second, and would gladly include Lenyn Sosa, Garret Crochet and any other minor leaguer other than Montgomery to try to get the deal done. Their bats, ages & control are very similar, but Chisolm fills a premium defensive position for the forseeable future and it seems like he & TA7 are kindred spirits, so would hopefully work very well together as well as bat 1-2. The White Sox can re-sign Abreu to man 1st again next year without too much drop off from what Vaughn would do, with Sheets spelling him at first and Eloy at DH.
Sheets + Montgomery + Sosa + Kelley should do it if Miami is serious about moving him, but I don’t see Miami being willing to move on without a major MLB piece attached, and Vaughn should be out of the question. Re: Cease, no one is moving Cease for a 2B, even if that 2B was Carlos Correa.
That said, I prefer Happ as a target for the Sox. LH, can play 2B, 1B, and every OF position, has one more year of team control, and the Cubs will obviously be sellers (and Happ and Contreras would be the most logical pieces to move.
Does Sheets + Montgomery + Kelley get that deal done? I assume so.
Agree about Vaughn/Cease. I do think that Happ is a good target as well, and that package should get it done. I’d imagine you could actually get Happ for less than that (meaning a lesser headliner than Montgomery)
His left-handed power, solid 2B defense and personality would seemingly be a great fit for the White Sox and SS Tim Anderson.
Hmm, for some reason i couldn’t reply to your response… anywho, that would be a great fit…throw in Garcia too haha.
It would take a huge package to get Jazz. I mean he’s not only a great young player (2+ WAR already), but is left handed and does most of his damage against RHP (.955 OPS so far this year), exactly what the Sox need. He has speed and is good defensively as well, and would be literally about as perfect a player as they could get.
To get him would probably cost Montgomery, Crochet, Eloy, Vera. I’d do that in a heartbeat even if the value seems like a lot. This is the best (if not only) window the Sox are likely to have, this year and maybe the next 2 after. Jazz would not only solve their biggest positional weakness – with the highest WAR on the team would immediately become one of their biggest strengths. And help, at long last, to address their biggest vulnerability – getting shut down by RHP. The difference he would make compared to the disaster duo they currently have is so great that it would immediately make them a whole different team. By 2024/5, the Sox will probably lose Giolito, Grandal, TA, and others. By the time Montgomery comes up, they won’t have a great opportunity to win anyway because of how poorly this team is run.
Probably won’t happen, but I’d trade just about anything that does not include Vaughn, Kopech, Cease, or Robert to get Jazz.