Getty

The New York Yankees did not just leave Tampa on Sunday with another loss. They left with another reminder of how quickly tension can rise when a team is scuffling, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. found himself right in the middle of it again.

During the Yankees’ 5-4 loss to the Rays on April 12, Chisholm doubled in the second inning and appeared to relay pitch location information from second base while Randal Grichuk was at the plate, a long-accepted part of baseball when a runner reaches second and can see the catcher’s setup.

Tampa Bay Rays starter Drew Rasmussen clearly did not like it, reacting angrily in the moment before later appearing to apologize to Chisholm in the fifth inning. For The Win’s Andrew Joseph described the exchange as Rasmussen losing his cool, with cooler heads prevailing later in the game.

On one level, the incident was nothing extraordinary. Runners on second, trying to decode and relay pitch location, is as old as the sport itself. Teams use pitch-com, vary signs, change sequencing, and even resort to intentional balks or step-offs precisely because they know the man on second can become part of the chess match.

What made this moment stand out was not that Chisholm was doing something unusual. It is that he is currently the kind of player to whom everything seems to stick.

More Yankees on Heavy: Yankees’ ABS Mistakes Frustrate Manager Aaron Boone

Jazz Chisholm Is Becoming a Lightning Rod

GettyJazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees reacts after being thrown out against the Tampa Bay Rays during the ninth inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on April 12, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

That is what happens when a slump starts bleeding into perception.

Chisholm entered Sunday already under a microscope after Saturday night’s extra-inning misplay against Tampa Bay, a sequence that helped fuel another Yankees loss and turned into a bigger story when his postgame explanation about the rule drew criticism.

Aaron Boone publicly backed him before Sunday’s game, saying Chisholm does know the rule and suggesting that the second baseman’s way of explaining things sometimes creates unnecessary backlash. Boone also pointed out that Chisholm is not a dumb player, but one whose presentation can become a problem when he is already off to a slow start.

That slow start is now becoming impossible to ignore. Chisholm opened the day hitting just .162 with no home runs, two RBI, and a .495 OPS through his last 10 games. Those are not the kinds of numbers the Yankees need from a player expected to bring energy, impact, and athleticism near the top half of the lineup.

Even more concerning is how the slump is shaping the conversation around him. When a player is producing, little flare-ups or awkward postgame comments tend to fade quickly. When he is struggling, everything gets magnified. Every mistake becomes evidence. Every tense moment becomes part of a larger narrative.

More Yankees on Heavy: Yankees May Regret Rockies Trade as Bat Explodes

Yankees Need More Than a Scapegoat

GettyDrew Rasmussen #57 of the Tampa Bay Rays throws against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fifth inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on April 12, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

This is where the Rasmussen flare-up becomes more interesting than a simple in-game argument. Chisholm is not just fighting pitchers right now. He is fighting frustration, outside noise, and the reality that every visible moment is getting folded into one larger conversation about his start to the year.

And the Yankees are not exactly helping ease that pressure. Sunday’s loss completed a sweep at the hands of the Rays and extended New York’s losing streak to five games.

The club’s offense has gone quiet at the worst possible time, and that is a big reason tensions are starting to show. This is not merely a Jazz problem. It is a lineup-wide problem. But when a player is slumping and already coming off a controversial night, he becomes the easiest target for everything that goes wrong.

That is why Sunday mattered. Not because Rasmussen yelled. Not because Chisholm relayed the location from the second. It mattered because even a routine piece of baseball gamesmanship now feels charged when Jazz Chisholm Jr. is involved. Until his bat heats up, every moment around him is going to feel louder than it should.