Yankees fans excited about McMahon, Rosario additions

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in New York Yankees fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

In the week leading up to the MLB Trade Deadline, Brian Cashman got the party started early. Before a flurry of moves on deadline day, the Yankees GM added two position players with long track records to augment his roster.

These acquisitions came in the midst

of a long slide for the team, which had watched a seven-game lead disappear as the surging Blue Jays pulled ahead in the AL East. During this stretch, the Yankees had first been relying on DJ LeMahieu at second and Jazz Chisholm Jr. at third, an alignment that was underwhelming at second (DJ posted a .336 slugging percentage on the year before getting DFA’d) and forced Chisholm to play out of position at the hot corner. They then pivoted to a stronger defensive alignment, bidding adieu to LeMahieu and putting Chisholm at his natural position at the keystone, with Oswald Peraza at third. The only problem there, of course, is that Peraza had a wRC+ of 26, making him the second-worst hitter in baseball among those with at least 170 plate appearances. It should come as no surprise, then, that the fanbase welcomed Ryan McMahon with open arms.

Kyle Thele

The third baseman filled a key area of need in more ways than one. His career wRC+ of 90, while unspectacular, implies a much more professional at-bat than the Yankees had been getting from Peraza, with the potential for more upside now that he’s out of the black hole that is the Rockies’ organization. And McMahon’s glove is superlative — he’s been worth four outs above average this year — something he’s already showcased multiple times early in his tenure in pinstripes. Fans overwhelmingly supported Cashman’s first move in the lead-up to the deadline.

Two days after the McMahon trade, the Yankees acquired another infielder in a more surprising move, adding Amed Rosario. The former Mets up-and-comer is versatile, having split time mostly between second and third for the Nationals this year with an appearance each at shortstop and the outfield.

Kyle Thele

A clear majority of fans were on board with this move as well. Perhaps that’s due to a key dimension the 29-year-old brings to a lefty-heavy lineup that got even more lefty-heavy with the addition of McMahon. Rosario has raked against lefties this year, slashing .307/.340/.489, giving manager Aaron Boone a key option off the bench against southpaws (and a far better utility option than the now-jettisoned Peraza).

In addition to these reactions specific to Yankees fans, SB Nation polled baseball fans from all teams to see who they think will take home each division. Considering their rapid ascent to the top of the AL East, it should be no surprise fans picked the Blue Jays to maintain their division lead.

Kyle Thele

The Yankees were given a distant, but legitimate, shot at defending their division crowd. Surprisingly, the Red Sox, who sit just a half-game back of the Yankees, were given virtually no chance to win the division, as were the Rays, who were lumped in with the Orioles to pull up the rear.

Across the rest of the league, the Tigers are the one team that appears to have their division sewn up, as evidenced by their overwhelming prediction to take the AL Central. The Dodgers also were picked as heavy favorites in the NL West, though it will be interesting to see if Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller’s frenetic wheeling and dealing at the deadline moves the needle there.

Kyle Thele

Kyle Thele

Kyle Thele

Kyle Thele

Kyle Thele

Rounding out the rest of the league, a small majority of voters think the Astros will secure their seventh consecutive full-season AL West title, with the Mariners and Rangers still in the mix. Fans also give the edge to the Cubs in the NL Central ahead of the Brewers, who narrowly boast the best record in baseball as of the time of writing. And the Phillies are nearly two-to-one favorites in the NL East, where the Mets are their most viable threat.

Let us know in the comments what you think of these divisional predictions as well as the early returns on McMahon and Rosario.

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