The Yankees are said to be looking for a way to move on from struggling third baseman Ryan McMahon, and a new trade pitch published Friday and aimed at the Yankees takes a big step in that direction.
In the new trade pitch, appearing on Baseball Trade Values, Matt Shaw would go to the New York Yankees and right-hander Will Warren to the Chicago Cubs in a one-for-one swap proposed Friday.
Yankees third baseman McMahon is owed $16 million in 2027 after he hit .213 with 11 home runs, so can a swap fix third base without thinning the rotation?
Shaw, 25, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, played at Maryland and went 13th overall in the 2023 draft before debuting March 18, 2025. He owns 18 home runs and 68 RBI in 203 career games. This year he hit .237 with a .737 OPS over 77 games, a total cut short by two months on the injured list with a sprained left hand.
Warren, 27, is a 6-foot-2 right-hander from Brandon, Mississippi, whom the Yankees selected in the eighth round (243rd overall) in 2021 out of Southeastern Louisiana. He debuted July 30, 2024, and carries a 20-17 record and 4.59 ERA over 71 games, including 11 wins and a 3.92 ERA in 2026.
Matt Shaw Trade Pitch Targets Third Base Hole
McMahon was rated replacement level by bWAR and posted a fielding run value of zero, and his .636 OPS sits 101 points below Shaw’s. Shaw’s defensive numbers at the position are positive too. He batted .226/.295/.394 across 126 games as a rookie and recorded plus-12 Defensive Runs Saved at third base.
The sample is small, however, because right field, not third, was his most frequent position in 2026.
Shaw bats right-handed, and he’s hit .263/.343/.478 against left-handers since 2024. McMahon bats left. General manager Brian Cashman said last winter that the Yankees’ regulars at third base, second base, first base, catcher and center field all bat left-handed, according to Sports Illustrated.
What the swap doesn’t do is move McMahon’s $16 million. The price of the upgrade is Warren, who holds an edge for the Yankees’ fifth starter spot, according to MLB.com, behind Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón.
Chicago Cubs’ Will Warren Rotation Fit
Pitching is Chicago’s larger need. Shota Imanaga, Kevin Gausman, David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Matthew Boyd are set to reach free agency, and Edward Cabrera, Ben Brown, Justin Steele and Javier Assad come back with health questions. Steele did not pitch in 2026, and Brown’s season ended in June with a neck injury.
Warren fits in the middle or back of that group. He’s made 67 starts in three seasons and thrown 156 innings this year. The same offseason plan lists Steele, Brown, Assad, Cabrera and Colin Rea as the 2027 rotation. President Jed Hoyer has said the Cubs will prioritize pitching, so Warren would likely slot behind any front-line arm they add.
Shaw is the cost. He started at six positions this season, and Alex Bregman’s signing and Nico Hoerner’s extension blocked him from regular playing time in the infield.
“Matt does a bunch of things well,” manager Craig Counsell said, according to the Associated Press.
The same plan has Shaw in right field in 2027, a spot where outfielders Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are headed for free agency.
On the trade page’s numbers, Chicago wins by one point of surplus value, 25.8 to 24.8. The rosters tell a less tidy story. New York upgrades at the plate but loses its fifth-starter, and Chicago gains innings but loses a super-utility man.
The question is, who says no?
Yankees Trade Pitch Lands Matt Shaw as Ryan McMahon Replacement