Bleeding Yankee Blue: THE MCMAHON EXPERIMENT NEEDS TO END

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

THE MCMAHON EXPERIMENT NEEDS TO END

What a hot start the Yankees had. Keyword is had. It's easy to overlook flaws and holes in your team when you are doing well. Then, when you aren't it is easy to pick everything apart. We've got some guys that are ice cold and that are liabilities to the team so naturally, they are in the hot seat.

I was never a big fan of the Ryan McMahon move. He was force fed to us by a bizarre move from our out of touch General Manager Brian Cashman. His .250 BA glory days in Colorado were his best and that's exactly what Cashman chases. Now he comes here and he's got a nice glove but he's basically an automatic out with his .190 BA. He's a nice defensive flash of the glove and nothing more. The name of the game is to hit and score runs also because you know....the team with the most runs wins. That's the part that just doesn't exist and it's not getting better.

So now here we are talking once again about how to upgrade this roster by the trade deadline. There are so many needs beyond the obvious bullpen, David Bednar and Austin Wells disaster that we can't forget McMahon. All of these guys need to go, but the last two days have had increasing chatter about trading McMahon.

At this point, there are more people on the roster I'd want to trade than keep and McMahon is no exception. I just think the Yankees may be stuck with him. We owe him $16 million dollars this season and next. Given how lackluster his stats are, I don't see the Yankees moving as much of that salary as they would like so finding a trade partner may not be as easy as we would like.

Then there's the other question of, who should the Yankees move him for? There are guys out there that could be a nice upgrade, but that doesn't mean they will get what they want. One wild idea that I found HERE talked about trading with the Arizona Diamondbacks for Ketel Marte. What's that? Oh, sorry that's me laughing in the background.

I'd love to actually UPGRADE from McMahon, yes and actual upgrade not a useless Cashman lightening in a bottle acquisition but Marte is not happening. First, Marte signed a team-friendly contract for 6-years and $116.5 million through 2030 with a player option for 2031. The Diamondbacks structured his deal with $46 million in deferred money just so they can maintain some payroll flexibility as they try to compete in the NL West. Marte himself also stated he wanted to stay in AZ "forever" meaning he has no intention of waiving his full no-trade clause that just so happens to list the Yankees as one of the teams he wouldn't consent to move to. He has full 10-and-5 trade veto power and he's not interested in the Bronx. He's a fan favorite in Arizona and he loves Arizona just as much....oddly.

So as much as I would like the Yankees to get ditch McMahon for some real offensive power it isn't going to be for Marte. That's a pipedream that just isn't going to happen. Even if his full no-trade clause wasn't a thing, there is no way Cashman could even pull that off. He only knows how to dumpster dive....