The New York Yankees are acquiring Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon for two pitching prospects, lefty Griffin Herring and righty Josh Grosz, the teams announced on Friday.
McMahon, 30, was viewed as one of the top available positional players on the market. He entered Friday hitting .217/.314/.403 (92 OPS+) with 16 home runs in 100 games. His contributions have been worth an estimated 1.4 Wins Above Replacement, per the calculations housed at Baseball Reference. He’s been a steady offensive performer, posting an OPS+ between 90 and 100 in four years and counting, though this represents his worst output since the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Yankees trade grades: Ryan McMahon a needed addition in the Bronx, but not the most explosive choice
R.J. Anderson
McMahon is due the remainder of his $12 million salary this season. He’s then owed $16 million in each of the next two seasons. In other words, he’s more of a long-term fit than some of the other options available on the market, including Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Eugenio Suárez, an impending free agent.
The Yankees have had a need for a third baseman since releasing DJ LeMahieu and moving Jazz Chisholm back to the keystone. As of late, manager Aaron Boone has used a combination of Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas at the hot corner. Clearly New York, now 4 ½ games back in the American League East, was not satisfied with that arrangement.
Herring, 22, was a sixth-round pick last summer. He’s split the season between Low- and High-A, tallying a 1.71 ERA and a 2.83 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16 total starts. MLB Pipeline recently ranked him as the eighth-best prospect in New York’s system.
Grosz, 22, is a former 11th-round pick who has compiled a 4.14 ERA and a 2.69 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16 High-A appearances. Grosz was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the 21st-best prospect in the Yankees farm system.
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