Ryan McMahon just gave Yankees all the necessary evidence for a future DFA

Ryan McMahon's tenure with the New York Yankees hasn't gone as planned. He has certainly been a strong fielder at third base (though not as exceptional as he was sold), but his bat has been anemic by any metric. So much so that after going 0-for-6 with four strikeouts on Wednesday, he has officially joined similar territory as a number of infamous Yankees who underperformed during their time in pinstripes.

As pointed out by Jack Fungo on X, McMahon has a 80 wRC+ in 162 games since being acquired by the Yankees at the 2025 trade deadline. That is a lower mark than DJ LeMahieu's final season with the Yankees when he got released, Josh Donaldson's career in the Bronx, Joey Gallo's time with the Yankees, Isiah Kiner-Falefa's 2023 season and Anthony Volpe's 2025 season.

Ryan McMahon's Yankees company proves the DFA bells are tolling

This isn't great company to be in for McMahon. To put things in perspective, McMahon is 20 points below the league average of 100 for wRC+. On the season, McMahon has hit 10 home runs, has driven in 34 RBI and sports a .210/.275/.346 slash line with a .621 OPS.

McMahon had some solid offensive years with the Colorado Rockies in his career, but his home splits were always much better due to his numbers at Coors Field being inflated as a result of the high altitude. The writing appeared to be on the wall for McMahon before he switched cities.

But the Yankees traded for McMahon because they were desperate for a third baseman last year. They also landed Amed Rosario to platoon with McMahon at the hot corner. Neither has stepped up to claim the job on an everyday basis, though Rosario's bat has been markedly better lately (.348 average in his last seven sporadically placed games).

Should Rosario's hot streak continue into the end of the regular season, the Yankees find a way to utilize him at third base during the postseason. There's even a world where Jose Caballero slides to third, with Anthony Volpe available off the bench. McMahon will probably still get a roster spot, but they cannot play his bat regularly in the biggest games of the year. McMahon's bat creates a black hole in the Yankees' lineup, which they cannot afford to deploy in October.

If not for his defense, McMahon would've likely been designated for assignment by now. And given his historically poor offensive numbers, it seems like it could be headed that way with McMahonunder contract for another year at $16 million. The 31-year-old just has not worked out as a member of the Yankees, and his time in pinstripes should come to an end sooner rather than later.

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