Yankees’ jazz chisholm hopes to skip rehab assignment as he closes in on injury return

Jazz Chisholm Jr. believes he will be back in about two weeks and hopes a detour to the minor leagues is not needed. The Yankees infielder, talking Tuesday while working with police and kids

at an event at Macombs Dam Park in The Bronx, said he has progressed to hitting in the cage and believed he would be hitting against a high-velocity machine either Tuesday or Wednesday.

“We’re pretty close,” said Chisholm, who has been sidelined since April 29 with a high-grade strain of his right oblique. On May 2 — about two and a half weeks ago — the Yankees said he

would be sidelined about 4-6 weeks. The infielder is no longer shooting for about a three-week absence, as he suggested last week, but returning in two weeks would hit the initial target.

EXPLORE MORE Chisholm hopes the swings he can get against machines that approximate major league pitching can be enough to convince the Yankees that he is ready without requiring a trip to

Double-A Somerset or Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. “I don’t like to do rehab assignments. I’ve never really been a fan of it,” said Chisholm, who had taken rehab assignments with the

Marlins. On Tuesday, manager Aaron Boone said Chisholm will “probably” need a trip to an affiliate, but he was not yet sure. “I would think whether it’s a game, whether it’s a game or two,

we’ll probably do something,” Boone said before the Yankees beat the Rangers in the series opener in The Bronx. “But it’s not something we’ve talked about really yet.” Chisholm, who is

asymptomatic, spent part of his downtime teaming up with the NYPD Sports Unit for the inaugural SBH Health System baseball camp for children. “To me it’s all about giving to the kids,” said

Chisholm, who gifted tickets to Tuesday’s game to kids from the Cardinal Hayes baseball team. “For me, the importance of me being here today is showing kids from The Bronx that I want to be

a part of their community.”