Last summer, the New York Yankees were in dire need of a third baseman, so they swung a deal to acquire Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies just before the MLB trade deadline.
McMahon responded by slashing .208/.308/.333 with four home runs and 18 RBI over 185 plate appearances in 54 games with the Yankees in 2025. Yes, he played tremendous defense at the hot corner, but his bat was a persistent issue.
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Fast forward to 2026, and it’s more of the same.
McMahon has been performing a bit better lately, but it’s still abundantly clear that he is a weak link in New York‘s lineup.
The 31-year-old is slashing .210/.272/.352 with seven homers and 22 RBI, and while he is still the starting third baseman, the Yankees generally sit him against lefties and will rotate players like Amed Rosario and Jose Caballero at third.
Due to McMahon’s frustrating lack of offense, a large faction of New York fans would prefer the Yankees to acquire a new third baseman by the deadline. It probably isn’t happening, though.
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Why? Because McMahon is making $16 million this season and is set to collect another $16 million in 2027 before hitting free agency. Do you honestly believe Hal Steinbrenner is going to be content letting $32 million rot on the bench?
New York Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon. Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images.
In theory, New York could flip McMahon elsewhere to clear room for a replacement, but what team is going to want to take on that contract?
The only way the Yanks would be able to dump McMahon is by eating a good portion of his salary, and while they did do that with Marcus Stroman and DJ LeMahieu last year, they almost surely won’t want to do it again.
And unlike Stroman and LeMahieu, neither of whom have found homes since being cut by the Yankees, McMahon actually has value because of his glove.
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You would never know it from his minus-3 DRS at third base in 2026, but that’s why those metrics can be tricky. Anyone who has watched McMahon this season knows that his defense is still very much intact, and last year, he owned a plus-10 DRS and plus-7 OAA at the hot corner.
If New York can find an upgrade at catcher (like Ryan Jeffers, for example) or possibly shortstop (unlikely considering George Lombard Jr. is in the pipeline), it would go a long way in improving the offense, and then you can live with McMahon’s bat.
For all of the Yankees fans who want a new third baseman, it just doesn’t seem all that realistic. The Bronx Bombers are stuck with McMahon right now, and so long as they make the right moves elsewhere before Aug. 3, that isn’t the worst thing in the world.
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