Early returns on Yankees' Ryan McMahon shortstop experiment? End it, now

There's something to be said for versatility (and for some players) that development comes later in their careers. The New York Yankees have several versatile pieces on their roster. Jose Caballero can play all over the infield as well as the outfield. Ditto, for Amed Rosario, who came up as a shortstop and learned how to play second base, third base, and the outfield corners as he tried to revive his career after busting as a former New York Mets top prospect.

The appeal of trading for Ryan McMahon came with his glove. While the Yankees were always hoping his left-handed bat would play up in Yankee Stadium's friendly confines, it was the Gold Glove-caliber defense that was the top selling point.

This spring, New York has decided to see if it can tap into that defensive prowess and build some late-career versatility with McMahon by giving him some run at shortstop. The idea being that, without Anthony Volpe to begin the season, McMahon can spell Caballero while Rosario handles third base duties.

So far, McMahon's reps at short prove he's very much a work in progress.

The question becomes, is this really an experiment worth pursuing? The more you see McMahon struggle with the side-to-side movement and other actions required to handle shortstop with competence, the answer is no.

Ryan McMahon serving as possible backup shortstop is a poor Yankees plan

The whole idea was curious to begin with. McMahon had played some second base earlier in his career, but has just three total innings of professional experience at short, which came back in 2020 with the Colorado Rockies.

Then you see the errors and it becomes clear that he's not comfortable at the position. He probably won't ever be comfortable there. It's time to pull the plug.

At the heart of it, this is completely unnecessary. It's not like the Yankees don't have other options.

Rosario is a lock to make the Opening Day roster, and is, you know, an actual shortstop by trade. Sure, the last time Rosario regularly manned short came in 2023 when he posted -14 outs above average, but he still also got some limited run there with 101 innings in 2024. The 30-year-old is now best suited for other positions, but he at least knows what he's doing out there. If he's going to be playing third base on the days McMahon is going to play short, why not just flip them both back to their natural positions?

Another option would be to carry Oswaldo Cabrera on the roster. That seemed like a longshot a few weeks ago, but given McMahon's inability to handle the position, why not go with a guy who you already know is good with the glove and knows how to play the position? Cabrera still has options remaining, so he could easily be sent down to Scranton once Volpe is healed and ready to return to game action.

McMahon is hitting .150/.190/.300 so far this spring. His batting stance adjustment has produced no results. Maybe it will in time, or maybe it won't. In the meantime, the only guaranteed way for him to add value to the team is with his hot corner defense. Put him there and leave it alone.