The Yankees have a third-base problem, and they need to be careful not to make it worse.
Ryan McMahon has not come close to solving anything at the hot corner. His defense has been highly disappointing, and his bat has been even worse. There also isn’t much help waiting inside the organization, and the free-agent class at third base is thin enough to make the whole search awkward from the start.
If the Yankees go shopping on the open market, Alec Bohm looks like the best option available once Teruaki Sato is taken out of the picture. Bohm, though, was mediocre at best this season. Sato, expected to be posted this winter, comes off a huge year in NPB, but questions about his defense and plate discipline leave plenty of risk attached to him as well.
That reality may push New York toward the trade market. If it does, the front office has a clear warning sign sitting right in front of it: don’t repeat the same mistake again.
The Yankees have already tried this route twice with third basemen. They traded for Josh Donaldson during the 2021-22 offseason, then later sent for McMahon at last year’s trade deadline. They also used Jazz Chisholm Jr. at third base after acquiring him at the 2024 trade deadline, but moved him back to second base after Gleyber Torres left in free agency.
The problem was never just the player. It was the price tag attached to the player. In both the Donaldson and McMahon deals, New York took on most of the money.
Donaldson still had two years left on a four-year, $92 million contract, along with an $8 million buyout on a $16 million team option for 2024. McMahon is on a six-year, $70 million deal. Colorado kept part of the salary in 2025, but the Yankees are still on the hook for $16 million in both 2026 and 2027.
The results on the field were just as ugly. Donaldson was released before the 2023 season ended, and McMahon is apparently heading in the same direction. The contracts also boxed the Yankees in, limiting what they could do in free agency.
That part matters just as much as the performance. After the Twins traded Donaldson to New York, they turned around and signed Carlos Correa.
Even with Correa’s injury history, he was still a top shortstop who eventually moved to third base. If the Yankees had gone after him instead of trading for Donaldson, they could have used him at shortstop in 2022 and then shifted him to third in 2023 to make room for Anthony Volpe.
Instead, they were stuck with a below-average season from Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop and Donaldson’s poor production at third.
The McMahon deal carried a similar cost. By taking on his contract, the Yankees did almost nothing in free agency the next winter beyond bringing Cody Bellinger back.
If they had not tied themselves to McMahon, they could have pursued Kazuma Okamoto or Alex Bregman. Okamoto’s bat would have made up for McMahon’s glove, while Bregman would have given them one of the best-hitting third basemen in the game along with dependable defense.
And this isn’t just about third base. It’s the same roster-building trap no matter where the Yankees look this winter.
They already have more than $100 million committed to Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, and Carlos Rodon. On top of that, they still need to find a way to re-sign David Bednar in free agency and possibly extend Cam Schlittler or Ben Rice. Taking on another aging player with a hefty contract could leave them with even less room to maneuver, especially with a salary cap possibly looming.
The position-player market is light, so it would not be shocking to see the Yankees turn to trades for bats or bullpen help. But if the Donaldson and McMahon moves taught them anything, it’s that chasing aging players on expensive deals is not the answer to fixing the roster.
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