The Yankees could face a $23.1 million question on Jazz Chisholm Jr. this winter—and the approaching labor deadline makes the timing more complicated. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports the qualifying-offer figure is expected to rise to about $23.1 million, though it has not been officially set. New York must decide whether to make that one-year offer to Chisholm and closer David Bednar.
The mechanics are simple; the risk isn’t. If Chisholm accepts, the Yankees would owe him the full offer for one season. If he declines and signs elsewhere, New York could receive draft-pick compensation. But an offer isn’t a negotiated long-term extension, and no decision to tender one has been reported.
Chisholm’s case is a difficult valuation exercise. He posted a 30-homer, 30-steal season in 2025, but finished 2026 at .231/.312/.399 with 19 home runs and 41 steals. That speed still has value; the reduced power and on-base production make a guaranteed $23.1 million less automatic than last year’s breakout might suggest.
Then there is the calendar. MLB’s labor agreement expires December 1, and the Associated Press reports a lockout is expected if no deal is reached. That could freeze free-agent signings, adding uncertainty to the market Chisholm would enter after rejecting an offer. It’s reasonable to wonder whether that changes his appetite for a guaranteed one-year salary—but there’s no report that it has changed his thinking.
For the Yankees, the choice is not simply whether they want Chisholm back. It is whether his upside justifies a one-year commitment at a price he could accept, with Bednar presenting a second potential offer at the same level. The $23.1 million estimate is not official, and New York’s decision remains unresolved.
