Is it getting late early for Yankees' Ryan McMahon?
Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon, who received his first start at shortstop Wednesday, is out to a 2-for-26 start to 2026.
NEW YORK – On a quiet, cold Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, there was plenty of shared regret on the home side. Old friend Luis Severino was against the ropes in the first inning – two runs in, his pitch count soaring, the walks already piling up. But he lasted five innings and the Athletics hung around long enough to post a ninth-inning run against closer David Bednar, which carried them to a 3-2 win.
The last chance for the Yankees was No. 9 hitter Ryan McMahon, who got ahead 3-and-0 against A’s righty and closer-of-the-moment Joel Kuhnel before striking out to end it. It was a 1-2-3 inning for Kuhnel versus the Yanks’ 7-8-9 hitters, and, yes, Yanks’ manager Aaron Boone considered pinch-hitting Austin Wells for Amed Rosario but ultimately “decided not to.
’’ Amed Rosario in the Yankees' mix Before the game, Boone decided to give McMahon his first MLB start at shortstop, allowing Rosario – following his two-homer night in Tuesday’s victory – to start again at third base. Defense naturally wasn’t a problem, and McMahon made several good plays early – short hops, backhands – that helped him settle in. But already, we’ve seen the lefty-hitting McMahon benched twice against righty starters, due to his rough start – now 2-for-26 with 13 strikeouts.
Since his acquisition via trade from Colorado last summer, McMahon is a . 189 hitter (35-for-185) with four homers and a whopping 75 strikeouts. And yet, the Yankees became a better team in 2025, in part, due to McMahon’s sure-handed play at third.