The New York Yankees are facing some tough decisions this offseason, but one decision should be clear. They should certainly hang onto their elite defender at the hot corner; a deadline acquisition who has yet to show his potential at the plate, but brings the attitude and defense the Yankees have been sorely missing.
In a recent episode of Talkin’ Yanks, hosts Jomboy and Talkin’ Jake posited that it wouldn’t be surprising for the Yankees to trade third baseman Ryan McMahon, claiming that he doesn’t fit in with this Yankees infield.
“Their infield mix doesn’t make any sense right now, and someone has to go,” Jomboy said. “I’m not saying I want McMahon traded, I don’t know if I want him as the full-time third baseman either because I kind of like pop at the corner.”
“I drove the McMahon bus for years, it was just a sampling of the offense and it clearly felt a little but off and I don’t know if there’s more in there, but $16 mil. for a third baseman that definitely has the glove and you’re not sure what you have with the bat,” Jake trailed off. “But, he doesn’t fit this current Yankee — he is a luxury piece, and the Yankees currently don’t operate in luxury pieces.”
Yankees Need Elite Defenders
More than anything, the Yankees need to work on their defense, their contact at the plate and their attitude, excluding player acquisitions this offseason. What McMahon offers is Gold Glove-caliber defense and accountability for his growth in an infield riddled with sloppy errors this season. Ben Rice, Jose Caballero and Jazz Chisholm are likely to share the infield with McMahon in the spring, while the major questions remain on the mound and in the outfield.
McMahon’s drive to get the job done defensively came through from word go in New York, with Max Fried in particular noting that he wanted the ball as much as possible. He’s a reliable workhorse, and it’s refreshing.
McMahon Has the Work Ethic
“He wants the ball,” Fried said in September. “He tells me every day, ‘Get me the ball. Get me as much as you can today.’ When you have someone over there, that’s really excited about fielding the ball and being a part of it, the plays he makes take a lot of pressure off of you. I am really happy that he’s over there.”
The bat is not the strongest in the lineup by any means, with a modest .214/ .312/ .381 slash line in 2025 with 20 home runs and 53 RBIs. But if the infield remains constant for 2026, Chisholm, Rice and Caballero are capable of making up for him offensively, and the Yankees are likely to shop for at least one powerful outfield bat to round out the lineup. The Yankees were blasted time and time again for being sloppy in 2025; they can’t afford to let an elite defender go while they still have glaring defensive issues.
