Sixteen months ago, the Yankees got creative with present and future infield needs under consideration. Their second baseman was underperforming and hot corner was a black hole. Gleyber Torres was normally a reliable offensive presence but was slumping in the first half of his walk year while DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera combined did not add up to a major league third baseman.

The Yankees solved that issue by trading for Jazz Chisholm Jr. days before the deadline, the incoming Marlin providing an above-average bat at third (and as luck would have it, an elite glove as well). Additionally, his extra years of team control allowed the Yankees to let the then-struggling Torres walk in free agency as Jazz could slide back to his more natural second, thus upgrading the hot corner offensively

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