Ok. Reasons to like the New York Yankees’ trade for Ryan McMahon. Reasons … to like … the New York Yankees’ trade … for Ryan McMahon …
He was a 2024 All-Star. He brings above-average defense at third base (despite a league-leading number of errors at the position in both 2022 and ’24). He has an .804 OPS from May 1 to present. Rockies teams often see the “Coors Effect” more prominently on the road, with deflated numbers, then at home, with their unique creature comforts.
Still … even knowing that home-road splits aren’t the be all, end all, and that a strong swing (McMahon has powerful exit velocities) can transcend state lines and altitudes, the fact remains … his numbers away from Coors are particularly objectionable.
It also just so happens that the stadium where he’d hit the fewest home runs in 2025, given his profile, is … Yankee Stadium, as Chris Kirschner of The Athletic pointed out. If you want McMahon to start fresh, you want him to go anywhere but here. Great.
https://twitter.com/YankeeWRLD/status/1948802118015746479?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwRyan McMahon on the road this year:
Yankees’ new third baseman Ryan McMahon cannot hit on the road away from Coors Field. Brian Cashman masterclass!
Sometimes, a former All-Star who’s sick of toiling for a stuck-in-the-grave organization rebounds at his new home. It could happen with McMahon. At the very least, he has proven defensive chops, according to the metrics. But the Yankees feel like one of the toughest-to-press reset buttons he could’ve been handed.
Beyond McMahon’s personal profile, the logistics of this particular move are also doubly confounding. The Yankees never should, but still love to let mid-tier financial commitments prevent them from spending at the top of the market. Contracts of the Marcus Stroman variety, if they’re not working out, should never be an impediment to future additions … and yet, they usually are under Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner.
Why, then, after officially ridding yourself of Stroman’s $16 million vesting option for 2026, would the Yankees replace it with McMahon’s $16 million salary, which hits the books in 2027, too? They’re paying DJ LeMahieu nearly the same amount to play for someone else or retire next year as well. Thank goodness Josh Donaldson’s money is off the books. Otherwise, they’d be tripling down on ghost salaries just to not have an answer at the hot corner.
Committing to McMahon through 2027 also means that George Lombard Jr., the Yankees’ untouchable top prospect, no longer has a clear path to third base alongside Anthony Volpe. The Yankees must now decide between several alternatives:
- Move Volpe to second base after 2026 if Lombard Jr. is ready, let Jazz Chisholm Jr. — the best player mentioned here — leave in free agency.
- Move McMahon to second base after 2026 if Lombard Jr. is ready, let Jazz Chisholm Jr. — the best player mentioned here — walk.
- Trade Volpe, hope his value has rebounded, extend Chisholm Jr.?
- Extend Chisholm Jr., trade no one, bench your new $16 million McMahon and shrug into the camera like Jim Halpert?
- Intentionally tank Lombard Jr.’s value and make sure he never reaches his ceiling
- Unintentionally tank Lombard Jr.’s value and make sure he never reaches his ceiling
Regardless, the Yankees now have their work cut out for them with McMahon, a struggling player who would’ve made more sense for the roster in 2023, is bringing a ton of baggage to his new home, and clogs up the infield and payroll on Brian Cashman’s Fully Operational Death Star for several seasons.
If he’s Scott Brosius, though, this all goes away.
