The New York Yankees made several key additions at Monday’s MLB trade deadline, but also chose to stick with a struggling infielder who was seen as a likely trade candidate.
The Yankees faced speculation on infielder Ryan McMahon, who had struggled this season and was pulled from the starting lineup for a stretch leading up to the trade deadline. The Yankees ultimately chose to stick with McMahon, putting him back into the starting lineup this week.
Yankees Sticking With Ryan McMahon
In the days leading up to the Monday deadline, reporter Devon Platana of SI.com identified McMahon was one of the most likely players to leave. Platana noted that both McMahon and Anthony Volpe had struggled, leading him to suggest trading McMahon could be addition by subtraction.
âAs mentioned earlier, the left side of the Yankeesâ infield has left much to be desired,â Platana reported. âVolpe is only one half of the equation, though, as third baseman Ryan McMahon has been just as frustrating, if not more so, as he disappoints despite making $16 million annually.â
McMahon was back in the starting lineup on Tuesday, batting seventh in the team’s interleague showdown with the St. Louis Cardinals
Ryan McMahon Admits Struggles
The Yankees have seen their share of struggles at the plate since Aaron Judge went down with an injury, with McMahon sharing in the pain. He is hitting a slash line of .214/.272/.375 in 94 games with 81 strikeouts.
The Yankees took McMahon out of the starting lineup for all of last week’s series against the Philadelphia Phillies, with CBS Sports suggesting it was somewhat matchup-based.
âMcMahon is out of the lineup for Sundayâs game against the Phillies,â the report noted. âThe left-handed-hitting McMahon will take a seat for a third day in a row to close out the series while the Phillies send another lefty starter (Cristopher Sanchez) to the bump. Amed Rosario will fill in for McMahon at third base and will bat third.â
The Yankees were active in looking for help on offense, landing one of the biggest trade-deadline targets in Luis Garcia. Reporter Anthony McMahon of SNY gave the Yankees a grade of “A” for landing the Washington Nationals first baseman.
“GarcÃa, who is just 26 and comes with one more year of control beyond â26, is enjoying a breakout season,” McMahon wrote. “He entered Monday leading the National League in slugging (.560) and has already established career-bests with 23 home runs and 76 RBI. He ranks ninth in the NL in extra-base hits with 48 â the same number as some guy named Shohei Ohtani.”
McMahon quoted a MLB scout who said Garcia will add some much-needed pop to the Yankees’ lineup.
âHe will wear out the right-field bleachers,â the scout added. âHeâs got a really good feel for the barrel and heâll use the whole field, too. Heâll create opportunities and balls will end up in the seats.â
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