Did Rockies Get Fleeced by Yankees in Ryan McMahon Deal?

Did the Colorado Rockies get fleeced by the New York Yankees in the Ryan McMahon deal?

Jul 22, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA;Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon (24) runs off a three run home run in the fourth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

With the trade deadline quickly approaching, the Colorado Rockies have started the process of being sellers.

As expected with a terrible year, the Rockies were going to be sellers this summer to try and recoup some prospects for what is likely to be a long rebuild.

One of their top trade assets was third baseman Ryan McMahon. The talented infielder has had a productive career with Colorado, and with the hot corner being a position of need for multiple contenders, he was drawing quite a bit of interest.

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Despite being under contract through the 2027 campaign, the Rockies elected to trade him to the New York Yankees in exchange for two pitching prospects; Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz.

That duo was the eighth- and 21st-ranked prospects in the system for the Yankees, but that return wasn't ideal for a player the caliber of McMahon.

The former All-Star has played below average this season -- slashing 217/.314/.403 with 16 home runs and 35 RBI -- but he has started to heat up in the summer. While his batting average is a down compared to his career numbers, the left-handed slugger has continued to provide power with a slugging percentage above .400.

Furthermore, he plays a very strong defense at third base, which was a main reason why he was drawing so much interest before this deal.

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Anytime a player is traded despite being under contract for multiple remaining seasons, it makes figuring out their value a bit tricky. Over the next two years, McMahon is set to make $16 million each season, which isn’t a small number, but it also isn’t an exorbitant amount based on what he can provide to a team.

While Herring was ranked as the eighth-best prospect in New York's farm system, his scouting grade from MLB is just a 45, which doesn’t give a ton of confidence in the type of player that he could become.

The southpaw has performed well in the minors so far this campaign, but he doesn’t have the best fastball and relies heavily on his slider to get outs.

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While Herring doesn’t pop as an exciting prospect, neither does Grosz.

The right-hander has a good fastball, but he struggles with his command quite a bit and his upside also seems limited.

Overall, while seeing the Rockies get a top 10 prospect back from the Yankees might sound good on the surface, that isn’t a strong farm system and there should be some concern about what appears to be not the best return for one of their top trade assets.

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