As the Major League Baseball trade deadline neared in July 2019, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent their No. 29 prospect to the Miami Marlins. In return, the Diamondbacks received the Marlin’s No. 5 prospect.
The respective players were infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., and pitcher Zac Gallen.
Gallen had been a Cardinals minor league player and noted prospect before being dealt to the Marlins along with Sandy Alcántara for slugger Marcel Ozuna.
Ozuna has since become a member of the Atlanta Braves, Gallen is solid starter in Arizona and Alcantara had blossomed into one of the game’s dominant pitchers before undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Let’s get back to Chisholm – and the point of this commentary.
The Marlins sent Chisholm to the New York Yankees on Saturday.
I’m still holding on to a dream that Chisholm will play for the Cardinals. It will have to wait. We might not ever know how close it came to happening over the past month.
R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports wrote in early July that St. Louis was “a potential suitor” for Chisholm, along with Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
” If the Cardinals could land him to help out in center field or second base, they would be in a significantly better spot than they already are.,” Anderson said.
That comment came to mind when right fielder Dylan Carlson misjudged a line drive that turned an out into a triple in the Cardinals 10-inning loss to the lowly Washington Nationals last Friday.
Second baseman Nolan Gorman was not in the lineup for two games before returning on Sunday. He was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. His batting average dropped to .204 and strikeouts jumped to an embarrassing 138 – which is the most in MLB.
Following his Yankees’ debut, Chisholm was batting .248 with 13 home runs, 50 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.
Chisholm has been injury prone, playing in just 60 games in 2022 and 97 in 2023. However, he’s played in 102 games this year, with two months left in the season.
The Yankees’ sudden freefall led to the deal that brought Chisholm to New York and left me – and hopefully the Cardinals – disappointed.
Chisholm and the Marlins were in Milwaukee when the trade was completed. He played his first game as a Yankee on Sunday night in a nationally televised game in packed Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
He played centerfield, a rarity for him, and batted fifth in the lineup. He got his first hit as a Yankee and scored a run in New York’s 8-2 win.
The Yankees started him at third base on Monday night in Philadelphia, which didn’t faze Chisholm.
“I feel like I can go and play anywhere and help my team win. Especially a winning team, if they’re asking me to go somewhere and help them win, I’m definitely going to do it,” he said.
Gosh, I wish this guy were a Cardinal.
The Reid Roundup
Sophia Smith had a pair of goals and Mallory Swanson and Lynn Williams added one each in the USA’s 4-1 Olympics women’s soccer win over Germany last weekend. The trio are players of color, something that should be noted by the men’s national team… USA gymnast Simone Biles fought through a calf injury to qualify for five finals at the Paris Summer Olympics. She is the most-decorated gymnast in Olympic history and is now primed to add more medals to her count… David Steward, founder and chairman of Maryland Heights-based World Wide Technology, recently transferred his ownership stake (reportedly about 5%) to another investor… St. Louis native Ezekiel Elliott said he is “thrilled” to be back with the Dallas Cowboys after spending a year with New England. Elliott, who held out for a new contract in 2019, offered advice to training camp holdout wide receiver Ceedee Lamb. “All you can do is put in your work and make sure you’re in shape when you get back.’’…Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love has signed a deal which pays him $55 million annually. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott could make $60 million.