Ryan McMahon’s circumstances modified straight away.
When the Colorado Rockies traded McMahon to the Yankees on Friday, it ended the nine-year MLB veteran’s tenure with the one group he had ever performed for.
However it additionally eliminated McMahon from a Rockies group within the midst of a traditionally unhealthy season — and thrust the third baseman into the thick of a playoff race.
“It’s hard to figure out exactly how you’re feeling,” McMahon stated Saturday at Yankee Stadium. “I’m a little bit more of a mellow guy, so I’m never gonna get too high, never gonna get too low. Just trying to take it in stride, but I’m really excited to be here.”
McMahon, 30, had time to course of the life change on Friday throughout a three-and-a-half-hour Uber experience from Baltimore, the place the Rockies are enjoying this weekend.
The automotive took him straight to Yankee Stadium, the place he arrived at round 8:30 p.m. He left earlier than the top of Friday’s recreation to be able to settle into the town forward of his group debut.
The Yankees added McMahon to the lively roster on Saturday, and he was within the lineup, batting eighth and enjoying third base, for a matinee towards the Philadelphia Phillies.
“This is every kid’s dream,” McMahon stated. “When you’re 9, 10 years old, hitting Wiffle balls in the backyard, you’re picturing yourself in Game 7 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.”
The Yankees hope McMahon may help them return to the World Sequence by stabilizing a third-base place that’s been amongst their largest query marks.
After shedding Oswaldo Cabrera to a fractured ankle and transferring Jazz Chisholm Jr. again to second base, the Yankees acquired minimal manufacturing from Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas, the latter of whom was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to make room on the roster for McMahon.
Superior metrics grade McMahon amongst baseball’s greatest defensive third baseman, however he endured a down season on offense with Colorado, hitting .217 with a .717 OPS whereas main the Nationwide League with 127 strikeouts.
McMahon, a 2024 All-Star, is a profession .240 hitter, and he entered Saturday with 16 residence runs, placing him on tempo for his fifth consecutive season with at the very least 20 homers.
“I’m working through some stuff,” McMahon stated. “Trying to make sure that I’m putting the ball in play when I need to put it in play. For me, it’s usually just ending the at-bat when it needs to be ended. Getting a good pitch to hit and making sure that I hit it.”
All through his profession, McMahon posted superior statistics at Denver’s Coors Discipline — the place the excessive altitude favors hitters – in comparison with on the street, however his left-handed swing figures to be a match for Yankee Stadium’s right-field porch.
“I’m more excited just to be part of this lineup,” McMahon stated. “From the other side, you look over at the Yankee lineup and it’s intimidating. There’s a lot of really good players, guys who can do a lot of really good things, so I’m happy to be a part of that, and we’ll see what [hitting at Yankee Stadium] brings.”
McMahon, who wore No. 24 with Colorado, is sporting No. 19 with the Yankees in a nod to his father’s high-school quantity and to considered one of his all-time favourite teammates, former Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon.
Blackmon’s professionalism made an impression, as did the work ethics of infielders Nolan Arenado and DJ LeMahieu, whom McMahon stated he discovered from as a younger participant.
McMahon spoke with Aaron Boone over the cellphone throughout Friday’s Uber experience, then met with the supervisor in particular person for the primary time earlier than Saturday’s recreation. McMahon arrived 22 years after the Yankees acquired Boone, then a 3rd baseman, earlier than the 2003 commerce deadline and gave him No. 19, too.
“We caught up in my office for a few minutes,” Boone stated. “Quick turnaround today, so just want to get him settled in and acclimated as best as possible. Looking forward to getting to know him and getting him on-boarded with us. Excited to have him.”
McMahon is beneath contract by 2027, however the commerce didn’t shock him based mostly on intel he had acquired from his agent.
He’s blissful he landed with the Yankees.
“I couldn’t pick a better spot,” McMahon stated, “if I hand-picked it myself.”
Initially Revealed: July 26, 2025 at 12:56 PM EDT
