NEW YORK — The Yankees activated Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the 10-day injured list Friday after he was sidelined with a sprained left elbow, and he was in the New York lineup against Colorado.
Chisholm, eligible to come off the IL on Friday, was slated to bat fifth and start at third base in the series opener against the Rockies at Yankee Stadium.
Not in the lineup Friday was DJ LeMahieu. He was scratched after suffering what the team called “a facial contusion” when he was hit with a ball during batting practice before the game.
Chisholm was hurt Aug. 12, on a head-first dive into home plate while scoring in a loss to the Chicago White Sox. Initial X-rays came back clear, but the Yankees didn’t rule out the possibility of surgery until an MRI detected no damage to his UCL.
Chisholm is batting .316 with seven homers, 11 RBIs and five stolen bases in 14 games since being acquired from the Miami Marlins on July 27. He is batting .257 with 20 homers, 61 RBIs and 27 stolen bases overall.
Chisholm had a fast start with the Yankees, hitting seven homers in his first 12 games, becoming the first player in franchise history to accomplish the feat. He made 13 of his first 14 starts at third base after never having played the position as a big leaguer.
“No secret how well he’s played for us since he’s come over,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I know he wanted to play [last] Friday after a day off, when we put him on the IL, so I know he was chomping at the bit there.”
To make room for Chisholm, the Yankees optioned infielder Oswald Peraza to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Thursday’s game.
LeMahieu, meanwhile, was hit in the face by a ball while taking grounders at first base. He was visited by an athletic trainer before he headed into the clubhouse. The Yankees said LeMahieu, who was slated to play first base and bat ninth, was scratched for precautionary reasons.
Rookie Ben Rice replaced LeMahieu at first base and in the No. 9 spot in the batting order.
LeMahieu, in the fourth year of a six-year, $90 million deal, is batting just .189 with two homers and 24 RBIs in 62 games this season.
The 36-year-old, who played for the Rockies from 2012 to 2018, missed the first two months of the season with a fractured right foot. LeMahieu won a batting title with the Yankees in 2020 and another with the Rockies in 2016.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
