Jazz Chisholm Jr. knows the im...

It was 6:30 in the morning when Miami Marlins star Jazz Chisholm Jr. got a life-changing call from his agent. In professional sports, an early call from an agent isn’t normally a good thing. Did the Marlins sign someone to take his position? Was he getting traded? Thankfully, Chisholm’s agent ended the drama early. “You’re going to love this,” the call began. That was the moment Chisholm found out he would be the cover athlete for MLB: The Show 23.

“When I say I was jumping up like a little kid,” Chisholm told Yahoo Sports. “Ecstatic. I couldn’t get the smile off my face. It felt like Christmas before Christmas. It was amazing.”

Gracing the cover of The Show is quite the honor. The video-game franchise has always used superstar-caliber players for its cover. Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper and last year’s cover athlete, Shohei Ohtani, are among the biggest names chosen to represent the game, which has sold millions of copies since its inception.

MLB: The Show 23 releases March 28. It is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The game will also feature cross-platform play, so you can play with your friends no matter what version of the game they own. It also features cross saves and cross progression, so all of your save data will carry over if you own multiple versions of the game.

Jazz Chisholm looking to win a Gold Glove in center field

It's been quite the eventful offseason for Chisholm, who will turn 25 on Wednesday. In addition to landing the MLB: The Show cover, he'll also cover new ground on the field ... literally. Chisholm is making the switch from second base to center field in 2023.

It's a drastic change, but one Chisholm believes he can handle. In fact, he was the one who came up with the idea. Chisholm asked if he could run down fly balls in the outfield as part of a conditioning drill. His trainer approved the idea and Chisholm felt so good doing it he decided to tell new Marlins manager Skip Schumaker a switch to center could work.

After playing in just 60 games last season due to injuries, Chisholm is also looking to play 160 games in 2023. If he can do that, and the rest of the team stays healthy, Chisholm sees big improvements from the Marlins this season.

"If everybody stays healthy, we’re going to be a plus .500 team," he said.

It's a bold prediction considering the Marlins finished fourth in the NL East last season with a 69-93 record. If the Marlins turned things around that quickly, they would be one of the biggest surprise teams in baseball this year.