If there’s anything elite baseball teams have at every position (outside of talent), it’s stability. Any accomplished team from even the last decade had players who managers could rely on at their position, not only in the batter’s box but in the field as well. The Los Angeles Dodgers of last season had players who were excellent and dependable — Freddie Freeman at first base, Will Smith behind the plate, Max Muncy at third, etc. That’s to say nothing of Mookie Betts either, a former MVP who could play just
about anywhere he was needed.
The Yankees haven’t had issues with stability and reliability in certain areas — right field and even second base are just a couple examples. However, third base was a huge question mark coming into the 2025 season, and Brian Cashman, the Trade Deadline, and Ryan McMahon have seemed to provide that stability.
Before McMahon arrived in the Bronx, he was playing for the Colorado Rockies, and his current spot on the hot corner was occupied by a mixture of players, including Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was out of position from his normal spot at the keystone but saw time at third to accommodate the statuesque 2025 edition DJ LeMahieu. But after LeMahieu’s downward spiral continued from last season, he was eventually designated for assignment, allowing Chisholm to move back to second. With Peraza disappointing and Cabrera going down for the season in mid-May on an ugly injury, the Bombers needed to find someone to consistently fill the third base role.
Enter the former Colorado third baseman. A second-round prep pick in 2013, McMahon began his MLB career at the age of 22 in 2017, playing in 17 games. The Rockies fell from playoff relevance (yes, they were a Wild Card team as recently as 2018) to the National League cellar, but the benefit for McMahon was that he had a long runway to find his footing in the majors. He first played over 100 games in the 2019 season, logging just a 0.8 fWAR at the age of 24, and he was healthy for much of the COVID-shortened 2020 as well. McMahon then broke out from 2021-22, tallying a combined 5.5 fWAR with 59 double and 43 homers, earning a six-year, $70 million extension in March 2022.
Colorado never escaped its 2020s-long funk though, so after McMahon made his first All-Star team in 2024, he was moved at this year’s Trade Deadline with the team on pace for one of the worst seasons in MLB history. The Yankees acquired him in July in exchange for minor-league arms Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz.
Since coming to the Yankees, even with a slow start, McMahon has been continuing to do what he’s done his entire career: hit the ball at a slightly below-average level while playing some incredible defense.
At the plate, McMahon has hit to the tune of a .229/.331/.373 slash line for a wRC+ of 97, just a few points below the average. That number is in a sample size of 40 games compared to his 100 with the Rockies, but it’s precisely what the Yankees needed from the left side of the infield and a stark improvement. On defense, though, is where he has truly shined the brightest. McMahon’s Defensive Runs Saved total sits at nine on the season, six of which have come from his 39 games with the Yankees. And in addition, his Outs Above Average is at five on the season, with two being during his time with the Yankees.
Some of his best defensive plays have looked like this:
And like this, just about as smooth of a play as MLB will find at third base:
Overall, McMahon has accrued a 0.6 fWAR in 40 games since donning the pinstripes for the first time, just a little under halfway to his 1.3 fWAR earned with the Rockies this season. Although he likely won’t get there with the number of games remaining, his impact can certainly be seen through the numbers.
McMahon was a much-needed presence at third base for many reasons, but particularly, for his defense. Having a player who can come in and provide necessary relief in the field on the left side, especially while Anthony Volpe is having one of the worst defensive seasons Yankees fans have seen in a long time (and the worst season of his career thus far), is a huge help toward building for a World Series. Some fans might raise an eyebrow at picking up the two full years and $36.5 million left on his extension since McMahon is only a so-so bat. But the trade market wasn’t deep at third, his offense is still better than the previously established low bar, and adding his glove alone has granted the Yankees full confidence in plays made at the hot corner.
Stabilizing one of the most important positions in all of baseball was a must for Cashman to keep the dream alive in 2025 amid another MVP-caliber season for Aaron Judge. Finding a player with McMahon’s skills has been a step in the right direction.
