Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade rumors feel even more ludicrous after Silver Slugger win

Yankees fans get on the team occasionally (read: often) for operating within the budget constraints that they, almost uniquely, have the ability to breeze past. Often, though, the complaints are about the allocation of funds, aka, "We can pay Marcus Stroman $18 million, but then we stop paying people?"

In the case of the latest buzz, though, the agitation has reached a new level. If the Yankees even explore trading Jazz Chisholm Jr. just because he has one year left of team control, they'll be breaching a degree of fiscal responsibility they might not be able to repair. Extend him. Don't extend him. That is your decision to make. But to willingly ditch the league's best offensive second baseman is baseball malpractice.

As of Friday night, "League's Best Second Baseman" is no longer hyperbole. Chisholm Jr. was awarded the AL's Silver Slugger Award this week, beating out Brandon Lowe of the Rays and Jorge Polanco of the Mariners in the process.

Want to trade Jazz? Fine. You'll be worse in 2026, even if you land Lowe. If you don't, what's your succession plan? Short-term? Long-term? Someone who isn't a Silver Slugger winner with elite athleticism? Got it. Don't do it.

Yankees' Jazz Chisholm Jr., who shouldn't be traded, wins AL Silver Slugger Award at second base presented by FanSided

Chisholm Jr.'s 2025 season in the Bronx featured 31 homers, 31 steals, an .813 OPS/125 OPS+, and the type of graceful, majestic swings we haven't seen from the position since Robinson Cano. Chisholm Jr., who somehow garnered the "overrated" tag in Miami, has hit 42 homers through his first 176 games in pinstripes.

Hopefully, that tenure in the uniform lasts longer than another 162 games. Regardless of where the dust settles at the end of next season, there is zero recent to facilitate his departure any sooner. He has done everything asked of him and more since his midsummer arrival ahead of the Yankees' run to the World Series.

Now, his supremacy is undeniable, earning his first career Silver Slugger in emphatic fashion. Don't play with your food, Yankees. You don't have to crown him yet if you don't want to. But don't make your already shaky lineup intentionally worse. You're not getting a better fit than the AL's best.