In Chisholm’s absence, the Marlins offense has fallen into a deep slump and faded from the NL postseason picture.
Fresh off enjoying the MLB All-Star festivities in Los Angeles, Jazz Chisholm Jr. underwent a CT scan on Thursday that revealed a stress fracture in his lower back, according to Craig Mish and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Sidelined since June 29, Chisholm isn’t expected back on the Marlins active roster until September.
My *opinion* is 6 wks is optimistic. I would not expect him back until mid to late September. I would add there would be no reason to push him if they were out of contention. https://t.co/DiOJ9cgMyZ
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) July 22, 2022
The sophomore second baseman has given Miami 60 games of excellent production when healthy (.254/.325/.535, 140 wRC+, 2.7 fWAR in 60 G). Chisholm was easily on pace to become the first Marlin since Hanley Ramírez to post a 20 HR/20 SB season. He was simultaneously emerging as one of the faces of Major League Baseball.
This setback seemingly caught Chisholm off guard. As of Monday, he said he was able to swing normally, just waiting for clearance to run at full speed.
Since Chisholm went down last month, Joey Wendle has become the Marlins’ main option at second base. Wendle is comparable to Jazz when it comes to fielding and on-base skills, but far less impactful in the run production and baserunning departments. Other than Wendle, the slumping Jesús Sánchez has been the only other left-handed batter on the Marlins active roster.
Now with confirmation that their offensive engine will miss an extended chunk of the schedule, the Marlins ought to call up one of their productive Triple-A players. The status quo is failing—34 consecutive innings without scoring a run and 13 days removed from their last home run—and these guys deserve opportunities.
Neither JJ Bleday (124 wRC+ in 362 PA) nor Charles Leblanc (134 wRC+ in 338 PA) is on the Marlins 40-man roster, but that could be remedied easily by transferring Chisholm to the 60-day IL.