The Miami Marlins must extend Jazz Chisholm Jr. NOW

The Miami Marlins have the best second baseman in the game and his name is Jazz Chisholm Jr. I‘ve written quite a bit about him this year and for good reason. He‘s a true superstar for The Fish to use as a building block. Now that he’s unfortunately injured with a stress fracture in his back, he will be out until September, and the Miami Marlins have an opportunity to talk to him about an extension.

The Miami Marlins must extend Jazz Chisholm Jr. as soon as possible.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. has 2.6 WAR in 60 games and 213 AB‘s this season. He has a .254/.325/.535 batting line and has 14 home runs and 45 RBI. The contact and on-base percentage are worrying, but his defense, power and speed (12 SB‘s) aren’t. If he makes adjustments (he’s only 22 years old(, he should be an annual NL MVP contender.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. will become a free agent after the 2026 season, which means that the Miami Marlins still have considerable control over him. The problem is this control won’t last forever and the higher his arbitration salary, the more expensive he will become. There’s also his free agent contract to consider.

How much would Jazz Chisholm Jr. cost the Miami Marlins? The Tampa Bay Rays recently extended their superstar short stop Wander Franco for 11 years and $182 million. Franco is 21 and played less in the Majors, but we can already see the cost.

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies is easily the best comparison to Jazz Chisholm Jr. Albies signed a 7 year/$35 million bargain contract at a similar age and experience level in the Majors as Chisholm. This contract was widely panned, so Chisholm may not be interested in it, but what contract could he command?

Befoge we continue, I‘d like to point out that Jazz Chisholm Jr. isn’t injured that badly, meaning that he should make a full an complete recovery. I also want to add that I don’t want the Miami Marlins to take advantage of his injury either. The fact is that as long as he’s not playing, contract talks shouldn’t affect his recovery regimen.

The Miami Marlins need to send a message to the fanbase by locking up our superstar. We have to do it before he‘ll become too expensive, or too uninterested in an extension. A 7 year/$100 million contract should be offered as soon as possible.