The New York Post reports that the Yankees are among the teams looking to get in on the market for free-agent infielder Bo Bichette. For the Brewers, this could be a chance to clear a couple of logjams, and perhaps get a short-term power boost.
In 2025, Jazz Chisholm Jr. split time between third base and second base for the Yankees, while also handling some of the duties in center field for the Yankees in 2024. With Miami, he played second base and center field and also saw action at shortstop. He has a left-handed bat that has seen a power surge since he left Miami (42 home runs in 638 at-bats) and has some speed and baserunning skills as well (49 out of 59 in stolen bases).
At first glance, Chisholm could give Milwaukee a brief power boost to give Top-100 prospects like Cooper Pratt and Jesus Made time to season in the minor leagues, while allowing the Brewers to make some adjustments in the infield to account for Joey Ortiz’s offensive struggles. He also adds power to a lineup that could use it.
That left-handed bat could also thrive in American Family Field, as suggested by the power jump when he left Miami (Christian Yelich had a similar power boost when he came to Milwaukee). Both the power bat and the versatility of Chisholm would help Milwaukee in the course of 2026.
For the Yankees, trading Chisholm would clear some payroll and, more importantly, roster space for the Yankees to get Bichette. There is a big question for Milwaukee: Who should be offered to seal the deal and get Chisholm in a Brewers jersey?
The answer might seem steep, but it could well be worth it. The Brewers should offer third baseman Brock Wilken and outfielder Braylon Payne to the Yankees. While both of them are in the Brewer Fanatic Top 20, they may also be the best options for Milwaukee to deal at this time.
We can start with Wilken, the team’s first-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft. Over two seasons at Double-A Biloxi, he’s hit 32 doubles and 35 home runs despite a scary injury in the 2024 season. However, in 695 at-bats, he’s struck out 235 times – a 33.8% strikeout rate. While he’s also drawn 132 walks, his 3TO profile is not exactly the type of thing that fits the offense that Pat Murphy has assembled.
His lack of speed on the basepaths is another glaring omission from the type of profile the Brewers used to great regular-season success in 2024 and 2025. Wilken stole only three bases in those two seasons.
Wilken’s defense is also suspect to a degree, and he is arguably better suited for first base. Milwaukee had Blake Burns as one option at the cold corner, with Tyler Black another potential option, and Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn likely to handle the bulk of the playing time in 2026. It won’t be the first time the Crew used a recent first-round pick for a rental (their 2007 first-round pick, Matt LaPorta, was the centerpiece of the midseason deal that brought CC Sabathia to Milwaukee).
The other piece of the deal, Braylon Payne, the Brewers’ first-round pick from 2024, might be tougher to part with. Still, in his first full professional season, while he flashed signs of a dynamic bat across 77 games at Single-A Carolina, he also struck out in 35.7% of his at-bats. While Payne stole 31 bases and has excellent defense, the Brewers are very deep in center field (Sal Frelick, Blake Perkins, Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Steward Berroa, and Brandon Lockridge all saw action for the Brewers in center field in 2025 and are on the 40-man roster, while Black, Turang, and Yelich are among Brewers with past experience).
Payne, who will be just 19 on Opening Day 2026, could be a fast riser, and he did have some bad injury luck in 2025; still, the Brewers have to consider that Luis Lara and Jose Anderson may still be ahead of him in the minors, in addition to all of their options at the major-league level.
To balance things out, Milwaukee may want to ask for a low-level prospect or two, like utility player Hans Montero or left-handed reliever Kevin Centeno, and some international bonus money. The Brewers also get a “conditional” draft pick, depending on how well Chisholm does.
Do you think the Brewers should make a Jazz Chisholm deal with the Bronx Bombers? Let us know in the comments below!