The New York Yankees may have some serious question marks regarding their infield group once the dust settles on the looming free agency period in MLB.
After a disappointing end to the 2026 campaign, there’s a chance that both Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon are both replaced at their respective positions.
It’s fair to assume that the Yankees’ experiment with Ryan McMahon is over. After trading for him at the 2025 trade deadline, McMahon has just been unable to find any sort of power stroke outside of Coors Field.
McMahon will be playing in the final year of a six-year, $70 million deal in 2027, and it might be wise for the Yankees to go ahead and dump him before even reaching that free agency crossroads.
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Should the Yankees Trade Ryan McMahon?
Ryan McMahon likely doesn’t hold much trade value, and it might be hard to find a suitor to take on the final year of his deal, so the Yankees should go ahead and dump him before the 2027 campaign, and then trade for a replacement.
Some potential options to replace McMahon who are thought to be on the trade block include Isaac Paredes, Ketel Marte, Matt Chapman, and CJ Abrams (Abrams could move to 2B, and the Yankees move Caballero to 3B).
McMahon had a particularly rough season at the plate in 2026, posting a bWAR of 0.0 over 124 games played.
He also batted .213 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI, and an OPS+ of 76.
In 2025, over 159 at-bats with the Yankees, his OPS+ was 78.
It was a decent experiment, but the Yankees front office needs to cut ties with McMahon somehow, or else fans may be very frustrated with how the organization has handled the situation.
McMahon is far removed from his All-Star campaign in 2024 with the Colorado Rockies.
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What Should the Yankees Do with Ryan McMahon?
New York Yankees fans, let me know what you would do with Ryan McMahon if you were the GM?
Should the Yankees search for an external option to man the third-base position, or would you be comfortable with a player like Jose Caballer taking over the hot corner?
Sports Writer Steve Silverman noted why the Yankees need to move on from Ryan McMahon:
“McMahon made an error in Game 2 against Tampa Bay that led to a big inning for the Rays and he was not good enough in the field to overcome his offensive deficiencies. The Yankees need to move McMahon because he has demonstrated a soft bat and there is no doubt that he was a disappointment in Yankee pinstripes.”
Moving off Ryan McMahon could also make room for a RHH to get more at-bats, which would create more balance in the Yankees’ batting order.
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