Yankees MILB: Yankees Acquire Ryan McMahon
The details:
The Yankees acquire 3B Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies for LHP Griffin Herring and RHP Josh Grosz
From the moment Spring Training began, third base was seen as the biggest weakness in the lineup. Oswaldo Cabrera stabilized things somewhat by playing average-ish defense and not-so-average-ish offense (.243/.322/.308; 83 wRC+). His performance wasn’t eye-opening. It was also hidden by hot starts in other sections of the lineup. Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham, Paul Goldschmidt, Ben Rice, and Anthony Volpe hit well in April, allowing Cabrera to take over third base with little detriment to the team.
However, once the rest of the lineup started slumping, the hole at third base became that much more glaring. The return of DJ LeMahieu at second base (with Chisholm moving to third) did nothing more than shift the offensive burden while weakening the defense.
It all added up to a team triple slash of .214/.292/.354 (83 wRC+) at third base. The 83 wRC+ ranks 22nd in baseball, which may surprise you. There are two reasons for that: 1. Third basemen around baseball are mediocre; 2. That number is bolstered by Chisholm’s time at the position. He hit .311/.383/.594 (171 wRC+) over 121 plate appearances as a third baseman.
Enter McMahon, a player Colorado has been resistant to trading over the past few years. Known more for his defense than offense, McMahon still represents an upgrade at the plate, hitting .217/.314/.403 (88 wRC+) with 16 home runs and 35 RBI. For those who hate strikeouts, you will need to close your eyes when watching McMahon, who strikes out 31.7% of the time. He likely doesn’t have enough patience or power to be a true “three-outcome” hitter, but that is the type of hitter he is.
McMahon pulls the ball 40.6% of the time and has increased his “Pull Air” metric considerably this season. Typically shaded in blue on Baseball Savant, his 18.8 number this season is in pink. That is intriguing, particularly in light of Yankee Stadium.
Defensively, McMahon is strong. He is +4 in Outs Above Average and +4 in DRS. While he peaked defensively between 2021 and 2023, he is still one of the better defensive third basemen in baseball. His OAA is tied for fourth in baseball. A +5 would place him in second place, behind all-world defender Ke’Bryan Hayes, another rumored target.
While performance is what ultimately matters, it doesn’t hurt that McMahon is durable. He played 150+ games per season between 2021 and 2024. In 2025, he appeared in 100 of Colorado’s 102 games.
His contract isn’t bad. The Yankees won’t be spending much on him at all in 2025 (the prorated portion of $4.1 million), but will need to pay him $15M in both 2026 and 2027. This is important for luxury tax purposes. The Yankees don’t inherit the cheap, team-friendly portion of his deal when it comes to luxury tax calculations. The calculation will instead be based on the money acquired.
The Prospects Given Up:
The name that will jump out first is Herring, owner of a 1.71 ERA, the second-lowest number in all of minor league baseball (Shane Murphy (CWS) owns a 1.69 ERA). His strikeout numbers predictably declined upon his promotion to Hudson Valley from Tampa (33.3% in Low-A; 23.9% in High-A) while his walk rate jumped from 9.2% to 10.9%. Drafted in the 6th round in 2024 (the Yankees gave him a well-over-slot bonus), Herring’s fast ascension has been fun to watch. He was 8th in the Yankees’ system in the recent Pipeline update. For Colorado, he is ranked 5th. Herring throws hard enough to be respected, but his best pitch is his slider.
Meanwhile, Grosz is now placed 18th in the Colorado Rockies’ system. Unlike Herring, Grosz can dial up the fastball, topping out in the 97-98 range while consistently sitting in the 93-95 area. As with Herring, control has been spotty. He owns a 9.7% walk rate, while striking out hitters at a 26% clip. While Herring’s FIP is considerably higher than his ERA, the opposite is true for Grosz (4.14 ERA; 3.38 FIP). He generates a solid number of ground balls (45.5%), and his LOB% (60.2%) suggests some bad luck in his profile. Additionally, he has shown off some bulldog tendencies, reaching 7+ innings four times.
Like many pitchers at this level, questions about whether they are starters or relievers exist. Colorado will certainly keep them in the rotation for as long as possible.
The Bottom Line:
If you are going to hit me with what “Baseball Trade Values” says about this trade, save it for someone else. I am not a big fan of that site as it favors two High-A pitchers over an acquired player that fills a major position of need.
Third base isn’t a strength in the Yankees’ organization, though many third basemen are converted shortstops. While they may need a position for George Lombard Jr. over the next few seasons, that is not something I worry about. Let him develop at his own pace, and everything will fall into place.
The Rockies needed to add pitching into their system, and the Yankees are a good organization to target for that. Both pitchers could make their Double-A debuts this year. The Yankees needed (understatement) a third baseman, and McMahon’s name has come up in the past. This was like high school sweethearts who you thought would get married, didn’t, yet found a way to reconnect in their 30s.
I would label the trade as fair. I don’t think Herring and Grosz had a higher trade value than a player like McMahon, who is imperfect but comes to a team where imperfect is a moderate roster upgrade.