The Yankees Already Have Ryan McMahon's Successor in Amed Rosario

Amed Rosario is looking like the steal of the offseason. He was there for every team to grab this winter, and the New York Yankees opted to re-sign him as a bench piece, for all of $2.5 million. Depending on how things go with Ryan McMahon, there's a real opportunity here for Rosario to take that starting job at third base for good.

If there is one thing Aaron Boone and the Yankees' brass should ask themselves right now, it's that if the playoffs were to start today, who would be there at the hot corner? Heading into winter, this answer is different from what it is today. They penciled in McMahon for a breakout year in the off-season, but plans have changed. If the third baseman they acquired from the Rockies doesn't eventually put it together, his job will be Rosario's to take.

Ryan McMahon looks to throw the ball. — Ryan McMahon has quickly lost his grip on the Yankees' starting 3B job. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

There was already a point in the season when it felt like Rosario was going to take McMahon's job. The bench piece who was here to crush southpaws got some starts against righties. Considering that McMahon is hitting .190/.255/.307 with a 60 wRC+ in 150 plate appearances, the Yankees may find themselves doing that again. This time, it could be for good.

It also doesn't help that McMahon is not just a poor bat; his defense has regressed mightily as well. McMahon is coming off a year where he had six outs above average and 10 defensive runs saved at third. He's now down to a zero OAA and minus-3 DRS, according to Baseball Savant.

Rosario is by no means a defensive wizard. His defense could be worse than McMahon's. He has a minus-3 OAA and minus-2 DRS. Still, when one considers that McMahon is technically 40% worse than league average by wRC+'s standards, it feels like anything can be an upgrade.

Amed Rosario's solid season is allowing him to compete for 3B duties

What Rosario offers, though, is a chance for the bottom of the order to be a weapon. It's a short sample size of 95 plate appearances, but so far, Rosario is hitting .279/.316/.547 with a 135 wRC+. He has six homers, which are more than McMahon's despite having 55 fewer opportunities at the plate. McMahon has four homers this season and is struggling to get extra-base hits.

Amed Rosario makes it a 4-run 1st inning for the @Yankees 😤 pic.twitter.com/f4FG1cQTba
— MLB (@MLB) May 26, 2026

Rosario showed more in Tuesday's 15-1 blowout rout of the Royals than McMahon has had in the last few weeks. Rosario went 4-for-6. If you don't count that final at-bat, where he homered against position player Tyler Tolbert, in three of his five plate appearances, he had exit velocities over 100 mph.

It's the type of contact that Rosario has made all year when Boone has given him the nod. If the Yankees are truly a merit-based team, the job should be his full-time at some point, giving them every reason to finally pull the plug on the McMahon experiment for good.

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