Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm has a ‘50 degree’ problem that ‘ain’t changed yet’

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm’s self-proclaimed “swing-for-fences” in his walk year to free agency, join Shohei Ohtani in the 50/50 club, already is a dead pipedream.

Thirteen games into the Yankees season, he has six steals and no homers.

Over a full year, that’s a 75-steal and zero-homer pace!

Oh well, there’s still has plenty of time for a second 30-homer, 30-steal season in a row.

The immediate concern is his .173 batting average and .482 OPS.

After going 1-for-5 with a lucky double in Saturday’s 5-4, 10-inning loss to the Rays, the career .246 hitter said he knows what’s wrong.

“I think my at-bats feel pretty good,” he said. “I just can’t not hit the ball 50 degrees up. I’m trying to get it lower. I’m hitting the ball at the barrel.

“It’s just I can’t get it from 50 degrees. I don’t know what it is to be honest with you. Swing down, swing up ... it ain’t changed yet.”

In Saturday‘s game, he hit the ball hard in the air in his first two at-bats.

Leading off the Yankees second, he flied out to left field with an 87.1-mph exit velocity. In the fourth, his flyball to center had a 100.9 exit velo.

With the Yankees trailing 2-1 in the eighth, he followed Giancarlo Stanton’s one-out walk by hitting a chopper to first base that probably would have an out in the other 29 MLB ballparks.

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But at Tropicana Field, which has new artificial turf, his one-hopper bounced high over Jonathan Aranda’s head and into right field for a double.

That’s Chisholm’s only hit in 12 at-bats over his last four games, but he’s not discouraged.

“It’s cool, it’s cool,” he said. “It’s gonna come.”

Manager Aaron Boone keeps thinking the same about Chisholm and the Yankees’ other many slumping regulars … Ryan McMahon (.097, 0 HR), Trent Grisham (.146, 0 HR), Jose Caballero (.156, 0 HR), Austin Wells (.158, 1 HR), Cody Bellinger (.240, 1 HR), and even Aaron Judge (.212, 3 HR).

“Yeah, it’s surprising for everyone,” Caballero said. “We all know what we capable of and the results are not showing up. So we all are in the same boat and we just have to get better.”

Saturday’s game included some hope that things soon may change. In addition to Chisholm’s extra-base hit, Wells went deep in the second inning for his first homer and first RBI, Cabellero knocked in two runs with an eighth-inning double and another with a 10th-inning single, and McMahon singled in his first at-bat for his first hit in a week and second of the season.

“Offensively ... better at-bats,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Better contact in some situations. I felt like we hit the balls on the screws quite a bit, some for outs in some big spots, so it’s encouraging to see that.

“Hopefully a couple of guys get some traction there.”

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