Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr. thinks Rafael Devers is right to not move off DH to help Red Sox

NEW YORK — Before last season, Jazz Chisholm Jr. had never played one inning in his life at third base. Growing up in the Bahamas, Chisholm almost always found himself at shortstop, the position the best players usually play in Little League. As a prospect, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins exclusively played him there before he transitioned to second base for his MLB debut.

When the New York Yankees traded for Chisholm before last year’s deadline, he said the organization’s plan was for him to play second base. There was one issue with that: Gleyber Torres had no interest in switching positions. He viewed himself exclusively as a second baseman, and he would not acquiesce to the front office’s demands. The Yankees did have a hole at third base, and without hesitation, Chisholm learned the hot corner on the fly and excelled, finishing inside the top 10 in outs above average.

After Torres departed in free agency this offseason, the Yankees had a vacancy at second, Chisholm’s natural position, but they left open the possibility of him beginning the season at third base. But the roster’s construction made starting Chisholm at second to open the season the most sensible move.

Chisholm missed over a month with an oblique injury, and when he returned from the injured list, the Yankees needed a third baseman after Oswaldo Cabrera’s long-term leg injury. Chisholm thought his days playing third were over heading into the season, but he told Yankees manager Aaron Boone before beginning his rehab assignment that he would return to his less dominant position for the betterment of the team.

The flexibility with which Chisholm has approached a mid-season position change is different from how the rival Boston Red Sox, who are in town for a three-game series starting Friday, have managed a requested position change since the beginning of spring training. Drama has hovered over Boston for months now as Rafael Devers, the franchise’s highest-paid player, has held steadfast to not welcoming a position change.

The Red Sox moved a reticent Devers from third base to designated hitter after they signed Alex Bregman, who’s now on the injured list. Then in May they asked Devers to fill in at first base when they lost Triston Casas to season-ending surgery. But Devers did not budge: He will only be Boston’s DH.

“I know I’m a ballplayer, but at the same time, they can’t expect me to play every single position out there,” Devers said through a team translator on May 8. “In spring training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove, that I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH, so right now, I just feel like it’s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.”

Red Sox legend David Ortiz said this week that if it were him, he would do whatever was necessary to help the team.

But Chisholm thinks Devers is in the right and shouldn’t pick his glove back up.

“His situation, it’s completely different than mine,” Chisholm told The Athletic. “He was promised that position. That was promised to him. I believe if you’re promised your position, you should go play the position you were promised. That’s what he worked on his whole career. You can’t go back on it. I don’t have a problem with what he did.”

The Red Sox told Devers when he signed his 10-year, $313.5 million extension in 2023 that he would be their long-term third baseman, only for them to sign Bregman this year. Boston was right in moving Devers off third base because he grades out poorly defensively, but Chisholm believes Devers owes the Red Sox nothing after they went back on their word.

Before this year, Rafael Devers had played nearly all his professional games at third base, including 130 there last year. (Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)

“For him, it’s completely fine to say, ‘Well, I was promised this position. I was paid and the reason I’m here is to play third base,’” Chisholm said. “That’s his thing, and he has the right to say that. That’s what he and the team talked about.

“When I got traded here, I was told that I was going to be the second baseman, but I wasn’t promised that I was going to be the second baseman. They never told me that you’re going to be the second baseman for this many years and this is how much we’re going to pay you to do this for this many years. I just came here to win, so I’m going to do what I can to go get that ring.”

That’s why Chisholm views his selflessness with his position change through a different prism than Devers’ reluctance and why he would not look at him sideways if he were teammates with him. Chisholm said it’s on Boston’s front office to fix the problem, rather than Devers trying to clean up the mess.

But Chisholm also views his role within the Yankees as much different than Devers’ role with the Red Sox.

“I’m in arbitration. I don’t have a contract. I could be gone in two years. I could be gone at the trade deadline,” Chisholm said. “At the end of the day, I don’t have any right to say what I want. So, they told me, ‘You’re going to play second base for the rest of this year.’ It came around that we didn’t have anyone to play third base and I was the best option. If that’s what it’s gonna get us to win, I’m gonna do it. If it’s not working, then it’s a different story. But if I could help them win, that’s what I’m about.”

Chisholm took the same approach when he was with the Marlins, as he moved from the infield to center field after Miami acquired Luis Arraez to play second base. Chisholm believed adding Arraez would help the Marlins get to the playoffs, which they did, and he was happy to do something that helped the organization reach its goal.

The goal for the Yankees is to win a championship, and Chisholm believes moving back to third base can help them win their first title since 2009.

“I think he’s put it as, ‘I want a ring,’” Boone said. “That’s where the focus lies. We’re obviously a long, long way away from being in that position, but to have people come in that room and just want to be part of shaking hands every day, that’s what it’s about. Jazz is epitomizing that.”

(Top photo of Chisholm: Wendell Cruz / Imagn Images)