The Yankees may not have a clean answer at third base, but one potential trade partner for Ryan McMahon is starting to stand out.
McMahon’s first full season in New York was uneven from start to finish. The 31-year-old hit .213/.279/.357 with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, and a .635 OPS in 124 games during the regular season, then went quiet in October with a .143 average, one double, and a .476 OPS in the postseason.
His glove, usually a selling point, also slipped. McMahon finished with a .960 fielding percentage at third base, nine errors, and minus-3 Defensive Runs Saved Above Average.
That kind of production makes him a tricky player to move, especially with $16 million due in 2027 and free agency waiting in 2028. But the St. Louis Cardinals have the kind of opening that could make sense for both sides.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently addressed third base in his mailbag, and the message was clear: the Cardinals are keeping their options open.
Goold wrote that the Cardinals "are open to a short-term starter at third base" and added, "also will spend some time looking at trades for players who could fit multi-year needs at a few positions, and third could be in that discussion." He also noted that whichever player they pursue would be a short-term fit to make room for a prospect coming up through the minors.
St. Louis used a revolving door at the position this season, with Ramon Urias, Cesar Pierto, Jose Fermin, Thomas Saggese, Blaze Jordan, and Nolan Gorman all getting time at the hot corner. That’s a long way from settled.
For the Yankees, that creates a possible out. McMahon still carries enough defensive reputation and prior track record to appeal to a club looking for stability, even if New York may have to cover part of the money to make a deal work. Before arriving in the Bronx at the 2025 trade deadline, he spent nine seasons with the Rockies and was a career .240 hitter, a bat that could usually be counted on to contribute more than it has in pinstripes.
The offense, though, has fallen off. McMahon’s hard-hit rate dropped from 50.5 in 2025 to 45.0 this season, another sign that the Yankees may have seen the ceiling of what he is right now.
If New York does move on, St. Louis could be a path to do it. A change of scenery might help McMahon, and it would give the Yankees a shot at solving the position more cleanly this winter, whether that means Teruaki Sato or another third baseman who can help more at the plate and in the field.
One possible return fit from the Cardinals is catcher Pedro Pages. St.
Louis has depth behind the plate, and Pages brings some value with the glove. He is 28, has two minor league options left, and is arbitration-eligible.
This season, he hit .217/.275/.312 with six doubles, four home runs, 12 RBI, and a career-low .588 OPS. His average has slid from .238 in 2024 to .230 in 2025 and then .217 in 2026, but the defensive numbers remain useful: a 31% caught-stealing rate, 75th percentile framing, and a 73rd percentile pop time of 1.90 seconds, per Baseball Savant.
A Wells-Pages catching setup would give the Yankees a different look behind the plate after what they got from Ali Sanchez and J.C. Escarra this season.
But the bigger story remains McMahon’s future, and the Cardinals appear to be the likeliest place where that conversation could gain traction.
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