The New York Yankees have been losing games, losing players, and frankly losing their grip on things lately. But on Tuesday they got some good news about Jazz Chisholm Jr., who ran face-first into something he couldn’t avoid: his own teammate.
Chisholm went down hard Monday night during a loss to the Detroit Tigers when he and Jasson Dominguez both went for a fly ball and collided. Dominguez’s arm caught Chisholm in the face. It looked ugly. It sent Chisholm into concussion protocol immediately.
But here’s the thing. Chisholm says he’s fine. He told reporters Tuesday that he passed every concussion test the Yankees threw at him and expects to play against the Tigers later that night. He planned to go through a normal pregame workout, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
Manager Aaron Boone put a slight pause on that, though. Boone told Hoch that Chisholm still had one more test to complete before getting cleared to play. So maybe not totally out of the woods just yet.
Dominguez felt awful about it. He said he called for the ball but maybe didn’t yell loud enough. The infield was playing in, so he committed to catching it.
“It was really unfortunate,” Dominguez said, via MLB.com. “I wanted to make sure he was OK. After the game, I went to check on him.”
The timing is brutal. The Yankees are on a five-game losing streak. They’re already without Aaron Judge, who’s been sidelined with an injury. Other key guys have missed time too. Losing Chisholm would have been another body blow to a team that can’t afford many more.
“It’s not something we want,” Boone said. “Hopefully, Jazz’s injury is not too bad. As the week unfolds, we start getting some guys back in the mix. It’s part of it. We have to handle it, and guys have to step up.”
Tuesday night’s matchup pits Tigers ace Tarik Skubal against Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler. That’s not an easy spot for a young pitcher, but the Yankees need a win badly. Chisholm being in the lineup would give them at least a little more firepower against one of the best lefties in the game.
Whether Chisholm actually gets the green light will depend on that final test. But for now, the early signs are good. He’s talking. He’s moving. And he wants to play.
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