As the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline approached, the Yankees identified third base and the bullpen as the two areas most in need of reinforcement. They decided to attack the hot corner first, saving their bullpen bonanza
for deadline day itself. When evaluating the available third base options, they found themselves at a fork in the road. One path that prioritized upgrading the offense led toward Eugenio Suárez while the other path that prioritized defensive stability led toward Ryan McMahon. We know the way the Yankees tend to operate of late when faced with this particular value judgement, and they made the move for McMahon and his Gold Glove caliber defense at the hot corner, knowing that his two extra years of team control provided a stable presence on the left side of the infield which would see a lot of action with dual lefties Max Fried and Carlos Rodón in the rotation.
This meant that the Yankees needed to recreate in the aggregate the offensive production they were missing out on in passing on Suárez. The lefty McMahon was roughly league average against righties but performed miserably batting against southpaws. The solution: bring in a platoon option who mashed lefties and wasn’t a complete downgrade from McMahon with the glove. That solution came in the form of a trade for Amed Rosario, the Yankees sending Clayton Beeter and Browm Martínez to the Nationals to complete the swap on July 26th.
Grade: B
2025 Overall Statistics: 63 games, 191 PA .276/.309/.436, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 106 wRC+, -7 OAA, 0.4 fWAR
2025 Statistics with Yankees: 16 games, 33 PA, .303/.303/.485, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 117 wRC+, +1 OAA, 0.3 fWAR
2026 Contract Status: Free agent
After being designated for assignment by the Reds and electing free agency following the end of the 2024 season, Rosario signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Nationals. He was always going to be a potential deadline target with his short-term affordable contract and Washington nowhere near contention, and he helped his case with an .816 OPS and 125 wRC+ against lefties. Sure, his defense with Washington was ugly with -7 Outs Above Average in just over 200 innings between second and third, but he still presented a solid option as a platoon bench bat for a Yankees lineup that was the most lefty-heavy in MLB in 2025.
That is precisely the role he played for the Yankees in his 16 regular season appearances, giving McMahon the day off when a lefty was on the mound and more than holding his own, batting over .300 with a 117 wRC+ and roughly league average defense. He even moonlighted as a late-inning defensive replacement in left field, allowing the Yankees to get Aaron Judge off his feet for the final few innings of games that had already been decided.
His big moment with the team came in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, Rosario drawing the start with the left-handed rookie Connelly Early on the mound for Boston. The game remained scoreless for the first three-and-a-half innings, bringing the heart of the Yankees lineup to the plate in the bottom of the fourth. Cody Bellinger led off with a double, Giancarlo Stanton followed with a walk, and after a Ben Rice strikeout, Rosario roped a single to left to plate Bellinger as the opening run of the game. In terms of Win Probability Added, Rosario’s RBI single was the single most impactful play of the game, adding 12-percent to the Yankees chances of winning.
Aside from giving the Yankees the lead, this play seemed to fully settle rookie Cam Schlittler into his start. He would go on to dominate for eight scoreless innings, breaking several records as he finished with a career-high dozen strikeouts.
Interestingly, Rosario made several concrete changes to his mechanics over the offseason that allowed him to have the best campaign at the plate of his career. He changed where he stood in the box, moving closer to the plate and the pitcher’s mound. He also opened his stance more and started his swing earlier, allowing him to move his intercept point further out in front of the plate.
The results were a two mph increase in average bat speed and a fast-swing rate that jumped from 16.7-percent in 2024 to 29.8-percent in 2025. By increasing his bat speed, he saw a 4.3 mph increase in average exit velocity, two mph increase in max exit velocity, and 8.8 point jump in hard-hit rate. By moving the contact rate further in front, he increased his pull rate by 13 points and his pulled-in-the-air rate by almost eight points. The combined effect of all these improvements was a gain of 99 points of expected slugging and 62 points of expected wOBA.
2025 was likely too small a sample size to determine whether these improvements will stick. However, if the Yankees feel that they need to continue with a platoon approach at third base, Rosario becomes an intriguing candidate for a reunion in free agency. Regardless, Rosario ably performed the role that he was brought in to fulfill at the deadline and was a key contributor to perhaps the most memorable game of the Yankees’ 2025 season.
