Yankees' risky lineup vs. Athletics takes the Ryan McMahon plunge we didn't ask for

The New York Yankees triumphed over the Athletics in icy cold conditions on Wednesday, as full face gaiters dominated the proceedings. It's often hard to formulate concrete takeaways when both lineups are frozen, but thankfully, one unexpected Yankee carried the day: Amed Rosario.

Aaron Boone played a hunch and used Rosario, typically a platoon partner for Ryan McMahon, against right-handed starter Aaron Civale. In return, Rosario punished both Civale and old "friend" Mark Leiter Jr. with home runs, the latter flipping the score and directly cueing a 5-3 Yankees win.

It's easy to be reactionary this early in the season and declare that everything that worked once must be done again, lest the Yankees suffer the consequences. In this particular instance, though, benching a scorching Rosario the very next day seemed foolish. How would the Yankees handle it, while also not keeping McMahon too cold in the important early portion of the season?

Simple! Give the struggling Jazz Chisholm Jr. a blow against Luis Severino. Or ... less simple, give McMahon his first start at shortstop, run Rosario back out at third, and let a scuffling Jazz fend for himself in his least favorite climate.

Yankees ride Amed Rosario wave (with strange Ryan McMahon wrinkle) in lineup vs. A's

Jazz is an All-Star for a reason. He's also quite possibly the Yankees' least comfortable cold weather athlete. He's going to need a blow at some point, and tonight felt like a pretty good night to try it.

Instead, the Yankees are running McMahon out as their "backup shortstop," putting one of their seemingly ill-fated spring brainstorms into action. When Boone first suggested the move, it seemed like an emergency solution. Instead, it became primary, even as McMahon struggled to translate his elite defensive profile at third into the lateral movement necessary to be a viable shortstop.

Now, he'll be thrust into the spotlight in the Bronx at an uncomfortable position ... in bad weather ... in front of a fanbase that already kind of wants his head after the work Rosario did in Tuesday night's win. It's an unforgiving, "what have you done for me lately?" group, and McMahon also hasn't done much of anything for anyone lately. Shoving him in at shortstop is probably the most inelegant way to keep Rosario humming, and the Yankees had better hope their cutesy choice doesn't burn them.