ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jazz Chisholm Jr. will suit up for his first rehab game Thursday, but across the diamond from where he has spent the rest of this season.
Chisholm will be playing third base as he begins a rehab assignment Thursday with Double-A Somerset, a sign that that’s where he could be when he is activated off the injured list, which would allow DJ LeMahieu, who went 0-for-4 in Wednesday’s 1-0 win in Anaheim, to stay at second.
“Maybe, we’ll see,” manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday at Angel Stadium. “I want him to work over there this week and in his games over there, keep that flexibility. Then we’ll make a decision one way or the other.”
Chisholm had learned third base on the fly last summer after the Yankees acquired him from the Marlins.
He moved to second base this spring and formed a dynamic double-play combo with Anthony Volpe before getting hurt.
But since Chisholm landed on the injured list with an oblique strain at the start of this month, the Yankees have lost their regular third baseman, Oswaldo Cabrera, to a season-ending broken ankle.
LeMahieu also returned from the IL and has looked comfortable at second base, his natural position.
“There’s so many more things that go into it,” Boone said. “In the end, I’m still not exactly sure how I want to go. It could be an evolving situation.”
Boone was noncommittal on whether LeMahieu would get any work at third base before Chisholm returns to the active roster.
But Boone said Chisholm has been willing to do whatever the team needs, like he was last season.
“He’s been awesome,” Boone said. “He came in last week and was like, ‘Where do you want me this week?’ He just wants to win. He wants a ring. That’s his focus.”
Fernando Cruz threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, featuring all his pitches, and felt encouraged by how his shoulder responded.
If he recovers well, Cruz will likely face hitters on Saturday and then be activated from the IL when he is first eligible on Tuesday.
“I think [the IL stint] was worth it,” Cruz said. “I feel 100 percent better than the last time I threw on the mound.”
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