NEW YORK — The Yankees needed a rally, and Ryan McMahon was not the man they trusted to start one.
In the eighth inning of Game 2 of the AL Division Series at Tropicana Field, Aaron Boone sent Paul Goldschmidt to pinch-hit for his third baseman. An inning earlier, Boone had let left-handed hitters face Rays lefty Ian Seymour while holding back right-handed options such as Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt flied out. The Rays won, and two days later they finished a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium.
It was a quiet move in a lost series. It also summed up how far McMahon’s standing had fallen in 14 months.
A glove that was supposed to anchor third
McMahon came from Colorado on July 25, 2025, in exchange for minor league pitchers Josh Grosz and Griffin Herring. He had 16 homers in 100 games for the Rockies at the time. His contract ran through 2027, giving the club more than two seasons of control.
The Yankees wanted his defense more than his bat. He posted 10 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025 and was expected to lock down third base through 2027.
The 2026 season did not go to plan. McMahon hit .213/.279/.357 with 11 homers and 41 RBIs in 124 games. He struck out 106 times in 360 plate appearances, a 29.4% rate, and drew 28 walks.
He finished with a 76 OPS+ and 0.0 WAR, the profile of a replacement-level player.
The glove slipped too. McMahon ended the year at minus-3 Defensive Runs Saved, a 13-run swing from the season before.
Boone still kept him in the lineup for 124 games, even as questions grew about the 31-year-old’s declining athleticism.
Now the club has a decision to make on one of the two players it once counted on as long-term building blocks. The other is a former top prospect who spent the stretch run in Triple-A.
Sherman: Yankees will look to move McMahon
Joel Sherman of the New York Post expects the front office to try to shed McMahon’s salary this winter. McMahon is owed $16 million in 2027, the final season of the six-year, $70 million extension he signed with the Rockies.
“I think the Yankees will try very hard to see if they can redirect Ryan McMahon’s money someplace else,” Sherman said.
Sherman has also floated how such a move might work. In a separate breakdown of the catching market, he suggested the Yankees could pair McMahon’s contract with a prospect or two to take on salary elsewhere, naming Minnesota and switch-hitting catcher Víctor Caratini as one possibility.
His defense at third still holds some value. But the Yankees need more production from the lineup, and $16 million is a sizable sum for a 76 OPS+ bat.
Domínguez’s fall from the top of the farm
Jasson Domínguez’s path is murkier, but the signals point the same way.
The Yankees signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2019 for a $5.1 million bonus. The switch-hitter, nicknamed “The Martian,” homered off Justin Verlander in his first major league at-bat in 2023. Tommy John surgery cut that debut short weeks later.
His latest setback came on Sept. 10 at Yankee Stadium. In the eighth inning against Colorado, Adael Amador singled off Luis Gil, and the ball skipped past Domínguez’s backhand in right field. Zac Veen scored from first base. The Yankees still won 10-2.
Hours later, the club sent him down.
“Following tonight’s game, the Yankees optioned OF Jasson Domínguez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre,” the team announced.
It was his third error of the season and his second demotion in roughly six weeks. The first came in early August, after the Yankees acquired outfielder Heliot Ramos from San Francisco.
In 57 games, Domínguez hit .225/.267/.368 with six homers, 12 doubles, 14 RBIs and eight stolen bases. His OPS+ was 75. When Aaron Judge went on the injured list with a right calf strain in mid-September, the Yankees recalled utility man Max Schuemann instead.
The outfield is crowded. Judge, Cody Bellinger, Ramos and rookie Spencer Jones all project ahead of him.
CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa listed Domínguez as an offseason trade candidate as early as August.
“Other super-early offseason trade candidates: OF Jasson Dominguez, Yankees,” Axisa wrote.
Matching lines, opposite markets
The two players finished 2026 almost dead even at the plate. McMahon posted a .636 OPS. Domínguez posted a .635 OPS. Their OPS+ marks were one point apart, 76 and 75.
That symmetry hides a major difference in value. McMahon has one expensive year left. Any deal for him would likely require the Yankees to attach talent or absorb money in return.
Domínguez is 23, still earns near the league minimum and remains under club control for years. For a rebuilding team, he is a buy-low bet on tools that once ranked among the best in the minors.
In other words, one is a salary the Yankees want to move. The other is an asset they could use to move it.
Where things stand
The Yankees‘ roster calendar is tight. The non-tender deadline arrives in November, and the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1. Upgrading third base remains a priority after the ALDS exit.
For now, McMahon is still the third baseman on the depth chart, and Domínguez is still a Yankee. Neither status appears secure.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
