Red Sox Division Rival Acquires Former All-Star Slugger

The American League East picture is starting to take shape. The Tampa Bay Rays traded for Bryan Baker earlier this month, indicating their intention to buy. The Baltimore Orioles sold off both Baker and Gregory Soto as they look to the future.

The Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays are yet to make any moves, but reports indicate they’ll look to add to their rosters. The New York Yankees are typically buyers, and that isn’t changing this season.

According to Jeff Passan, the Yankees are acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies. Jorge Castillo reported that minor league pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz are going to Colorado in return.

Herring is the Yankees’ 17th-ranked prospect by Baseball America, while Grosz is outside the top 30. MLB Pipeline ranks Herring and Grosz eighth and 21st, respectively.

The Yankees have played five different players at third base this season. Outside of Jazz Chisholm, who moved to second base at the beginning of July, they haven’t had any offensive production from the position.

McMahon should provide the Yankees with some offense at the hot corner. He’s hit 16 home runs this season and is walking 12.2% of the time. The lefty does sell out for power; his whiff and strikeout rates rank in the bottom third percentile in all of baseball.

McMahon also has significant home/road splits, as is typically the case with Rockies hitters. He’s hit just .189 on the road this season compared to .248 at home. While the environment in Colorado allows baseballs to travel further, it also decreases the amount that pitches break. As such, when Rockies players go on the road, they’re subjected to more movement, which decreases their offensive output. With more time outside Colorado, McMahon should be more consistent.

Defensively, McMahon will be an upgrade for New York as well. He’s accumulated four outs above average this season, placing him in the 86th percentile. Oswald Peraza has been solid defensively, but is hitting just .149 in 69 games.

McMahon is 30 years old and under contract through 2027. He’ll make $16 million each of the next two seasons.