TAMPA, Fla. — Ryan McMahon has played three innings at shortstop in his entire major league career. All three came in 2020 with the Rockies during the pandemic-shortened season with no fans in the stands. Now, six years later, the Yankees want to see if their Gold Glove-caliber third baseman can handle the most demanding position on the dirt.
Manager Aaron Boone revealed Wednesday that the team will give McMahon reps at shortstop during spring training. The move is designed to create a backup option while Anthony Volpe recovers from offseason labrum surgery. But the decision raises deeper questions about the Yankees’ infield plans for 2026 and potentially beyond.
The shortstop depth problem the Yankees created
Volpe had surgery in early October to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He is expected to start the season on the injured list and will miss at least the first month. That pushes Jose Caballero, the speedster acquired from Tampa Bay at last year’s deadline, into the starting lineup at short.
But behind Caballero, the options are thin. Oswaldo Cabrera is dealing with a surgically repaired ankle from a gruesome injury last May in Seattle. Boone has already said Cabrera will not play in exhibition games right away. Amed Rosario has the most shortstop experience among the bench pieces but has largely been pushed off the position due to defensive struggles. He played all of two innings at shortstop last season.
The Yankees passed on adding a proven shortstop option this winter. Bo Bichette signed with the Mets. Other alternatives came and went. That left a gap that the front office apparently hopes McMahon can fill on an emergency basis.
Why Boone is rolling the dice with McMahon at short
The logic starts with McMahon’s defensive profile. He posted a plus-10 Defensive Runs Saved and a plus-6 Outs Above Average at third base in 2025. He is one of the best defensive infielders in baseball. He has also handled second base plenty of times during his nine-year career with Colorado.
The Yankees believe those skills could translate across the diamond. According to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News, the shortstop work would be purely for emergency purposes. Caballero remains the starter. But if Caballero needs a day off, or something worse happens, the Yankees need someone who can step in without the defense collapsing.
The alternative would be selecting a non-roster invitee like Braden Shewmake, Zack Short or Paul DeJong onto the 40-man roster. Boone would rather avoid that if McMahon can show enough range and footwork to handle the position in small doses.
The platoon question nobody is asking out loud
Here is where this gets interesting. Ryan McMahon is a left-handed hitter. Volpe bats right-handed. The two have sharply different platoon splits that make a future tandem at shortstop at least worth considering, even if the Yankees are not saying it publicly.
Volpe has a career .249 batting average and .726 OPS against left-handed pitching. Against right-handers, those numbers drop to .213 and .639. McMahon has hit .243 with a .763 OPS against righties over his career. His numbers against lefties are significantly worse at .227 and .676.
If McMahon proves he can play shortstop competently, a platoon where Volpe faces lefties and McMahon sees righties would maximize both bats. It would also limit Volpe’s exposure to right-handed pitching, which has been his biggest offensive weakness.
Volpe is only 24 years old. The Yankees are not giving up on him. He was a Gold Glove winner as a rookie in 2023 and has shown 20-20 potential. But the team has not won a World Series since 2009, and patience is running thin in the Bronx. After three below-average offensive seasons, the front office may be looking for ways to insulate Volpe while still keeping his development on track.
McMahon’s bat remains a concern in the Bronx
The glove is elite. The bat is another story. McMahon slashed .208/.308/.333 with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 185 plate appearances after arriving in New York. For the full 2025 season between Colorado and the Yankees, he hit .217/.314/.403 with 16 homers across 401 plate appearances.
The 31-year-old has hit 20 or more home runs in six straight seasons. The power is real. But his overall production has trended downward, and the move from Coors Field to Yankee Stadium did not help. He is owed $16 million in each of the next two seasons. At that price, the Yankees need him contributing in multiple ways, and shortstop versatility would make that contract much easier to justify.
What this means for roster construction
If McMahon can serve as a backup shortstop, the Yankees would gain flexibility across their bench. They could potentially carry Jasson Dominguez as a fourth outfielder instead of needing to protect a dedicated backup shortstop on the 26-man roster.
In that scenario, McMahon slides to shortstop when Caballero sits. Amed Rosario steps in at third base. The bench stays deep without needing to burn a roster spot on a defense-only middle infielder.
It is a creative solution to a problem the Yankees largely brought on themselves by declining to add a shortstop this winter. Whether it works depends on how McMahon looks fielding ground balls in the six-hole over the next four weeks. Three innings in 2020 is not exactly a foundation to build on.
The Grapefruit League opens Friday in Sarasota against the Orioles. The experiment starts now.
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