Amed Rosario Experiment Is What Yankees Need to Solve the Ryan McMahon Problem

It's time for NYY manager Aaron Boone to shake things up at the hot corner.

Amed Rosario has played well enough for the Yankees to consider giving him a shot as the starting 3B. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The 2026 MLB trade deadline is just over six weeks away, leaving the Yankees with limited time to address their most pressing roster needs. Although it would be great to see general manager Brian Cashman acquire a bullpen upgrade or even a difference-making catcher, the Yankees could also benefit from upgrading their third base situation as Ryan McMahon continues to deliver underwhelming results.

Names like the Giants' Matt Chapman, the Astros' Isaac Paredes and the Reds' Eugenio Suárez have been thrown around as potential trade targets for New York before the August deadline. While all are viable options, the Yankees might prefer to hold on to their prospects and explore internal solutions for their third-base woes.

If that's the case, manager Aaron Boone must consider giving Amed Rosario a legitimate shot to start at the hot corner moving forward.

Ryan McMahon's struggles clear the way for Yankees to start Amed Rosario

More often than not, McMahon has been a disappointment ever since coming over from the Rockies last season. The former MLB All-Star is slashing a career-worst .209/.271/.350 through 66 games (177 at-bats), tallying seven home runs and 22 RBIs with a 30.6% strikeout rate. The big-league average is 22.5%, by the way.

According to Baseball Savant, McMahon's .228 expected batting average (23rd percentile), 32.2% whiff rate (ninth percentile), and 29.4% launch-angle sweet-spot rate (15th percentile) are all well below league average, giving the Yankees even more reason to give Rosario a shot.

Ryan McMahon's offensive inconsistencies are enough to remove him from the Yankees' batting order. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Rosario hasn't been setting the world on fire, but his bat has provided the Yankees with more juice than McMahon's. The versatile veteran is batting .252 with a career-high .767 OPS over 107 ABs in 39 games, amassing six home runs, 20 RBIs, and seven walks along the way. That would put him on pace for a 25-HR, 83-RBI performance in 162 games—both of which would be new personal bests for the 10-year MLB veteran.

What's impressive is that Rosario is accomplishing these results without playing a concrete role each day. Although he's played a season-high 161 innings at third base, he's also played another 38 innings at second base and 15 2/3 frames in the outfield. He has four errors at 3B; however, only two have come in 12 games (73 1/3 innings) since May 1.

Besides, McMahon also has four errors in 455 1/3 innings this season, as well as a whopping 29 dating back to the 2024 campaign—the year when he led the majors with 15 third-base blunders.

Amed Rosario's defense hasn't been perfect; however, Ryan McMahon hasn't given the Yankees anything better at third base this season. | Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

It's becoming clear that McMahon won't live up to the $16 million price tag he's commanding this season and next year. The Yankees should dig high and low to see if another team is willing to roll the dice on reviving McMahon's career, but that could be easier said than done, and it might have to wait until the winter to happen.

Rosario—who's on a one-year contract and will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason—is a suitable stopgap for New York at third base. That's until someone like George Lombard Jr. is ready for a look in the majors. In the meantime, Rosario has proven to be a locker room leader who turns up the good vibes every time he makes contact with the ball, and now it's time for Boone & Co. to reward him as such.

Trading for Amed Rosario, then bringing him back, is one of my favorite smaller moves the Yankees have made in recent years.

Rosario has so much charisma, and every time he makes contact, you can see it from the way he swings. He brings such joy to every aspect of his game and… pic.twitter.com/Vu4c86RUsc

— Joe Randazzo (@YankeeLibrarian) June 17, 2026

At the end of the day, the Yankees shouldn't feel confident about their World Series aspirations if McMahon remains the starting 2B into the second half of the year. He's proven on both sides of the ball that he can't consistently provide New York with the spark it needs, solidifying the case to experiment with Rosario at the hot corner on a bigger sample size.

If things don't work out and Rosario proves that he isn't the ideal 3B solution, the Yankees can turn their attention back to the trade market during the All-Star break. However, that should only happen after internal options are exhausted, and that begins with Rosario.