The Yankees’ latest infield dilemma isn’t just about what happens in October. It’s also about what comes after.
Friday’s 1-0 win over the Red Sox kept New York moving in the right direction at 76-58, but the bigger picture is messier. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon sit at the center of it, and the organization has to weigh both the present and the future.
Chisholm has brought speed and defense, but the bat hasn’t matched his 31-homer, 31-steal season in 2025. Through Friday, he was hitting .226 with 18 home runs and 38 stolen bases. He can become a free agent after the World Series, which leaves the Yankees staring at a major decision on whether to commit long term.
McMahon is the other half of the puzzle at third base. The left-handed hitter is batting .216/.282/.367 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs, and he has been on the 10-day injured list since Aug. 20 with a Grade 2 sprain of his left thumb. He may return around roster expansion, but his contract runs through 2027 and calls for $16 million next season.
So New York is juggling two different kinds of risk: one player could walk, while the other is locked in. That’s where the Yankees’ farm system has suddenly made things more interesting.
Roderick Arias is forcing his way into the conversation.
The switch-hitting prospect homered again Friday for Double-A Somerset, going deep in three of his last four games. He now has 16 home runs, 78 RBIs and 34 stolen bases across 115 games between High-A Hudson Valley and Somerset, with both totals standing as career highs.
Since his Aug. 4 promotion, Arias has hit .276/.344/.517 with four homers, 17 RBIs and 12 extra-base hits in 22 games. The bigger shift has come over time: he hit .191 in April and May, then caught fire. A Pinstripes Nation calculation from his official game data shows a .319 average from June 1 through Aug. 28, with 14 of his 16 home runs coming in that stretch.
Arias wasn’t even in MLB Pipeline’s preseason Top 30 after two uneven Single-A seasons. Now, five months later, the more important question is where he fits defensively.
This season, Arias has played 71 games at third base and 20 at second, compared with 19 at shortstop. He was at second again Friday, and 91 of his 110 defensive appearances have come at the same two positions occupied by Chisholm and McMahon. Baseball Savant’s minor league fielding data credits him with 17 errors at third and seven at shortstop, while he has no errors in 20 games at second.
The Yankees are clearly steering him toward the spots that matter most for their current roster. MLB Pipeline has rated Arias’ arm among his better tools, and his speed plus switch-hitting profile keep second base in play.
There’s even a split that could matter down the road. Through Thursday, Arias was hitting .322/.374/.494 against lefties and .258/.348/.439 against right-handers. McMahon bats left-handed, so Arias could eventually pair with him against some lefties while still covering multiple infield positions.
No one in the organization has said that’s the plan, and Arias hasn’t reached Triple-A yet. But the breakout has given the Yankees something they didn’t have before: a real internal option.
The contract timing makes it even more relevant. Chisholm can leave this winter.
McMahon is under control through 2027. If Chisholm stays, Arias could keep developing behind both veterans.
If Chisholm goes, second base could open sooner. If McMahon remains through the life of his deal, third base could open later.
Arias also has a 40-man roster decision coming. He signed at age 17 in January 2022, and under MLB’s Rule 5 eligibility rules for players signed at 18 or younger, the Yankees must protect him after his fifth professional season or leave him exposed to the draft.
For now, the Yankees don’t need Arias to solve 2026. Chisholm is still in Aaron Boone’s lineup, and McMahon is working back from the injured list.
But Arias has changed the shape of the discussion. What started as a prospect trying to rebuild his stock has become a player with a real say in how the Yankees think about second base and third base beyond this season.
In Other News...
Yankees Just Added A Former Mets Prospect Fans Never Expected
The Yankees added a familiar name to their system this week, signing outfielder Jarred Kelenic to a minor-league deal with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Once one of the more talked-about prospects in the Mets organization before being dealt away, Kelenic now lands on the other side of New York as a depth move for a club trying to keep its upper-level roster stocked for the stretch run.
Kelenic has continued to show he can hit in the minors, even if that success has not yet translated into consistent results in the majors. For the Yankees, the appeal is less about an immediate big-league role and more about adding an experienced outfielder who could help the RailRiders as they push toward the postseason, while leaving open the question of whether there is still another step left in his career path. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Fans Can Already Laugh At Boston's Adley Rutschman Gamble
Bostons bid to land Adley Rutschman has already turned into a rough early return for a move that cost the Red Sox a haul of top prospects, including Harold Rivas as the player to be named later. Rutschman was supposed to help stabilize the middle of the lineup while bringing his well-regarded defense behind the plate, but the offensive side has not come close to matching the price Boston paid.
Since the trade, Rutschman has struggled badly at the plate, hitting .133 in 45 at-bats and posting a weak overall line that has only sharpened the scrutiny on the deal. The glove still gives Boston something to point to, but with the bat not following and the prospect package already out the door, this is the kind of gamble Yankees fans can enjoy watching from a distance. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Still Have Two September Holes And A Risky Triple A Answer
The Yankees came out of the trade deadline with Luis Garcia Jr., but the roster still has a couple of September questions hanging over it. Bullpen depth remains one of them, and the other is the kind of practical problem that tends to surface late in a season: who backs up the catcher when the games start piling up and the margin for error shrinks.
Triple-A offers a few possible answers, though none of them come without some risk. Luis Gil has flashed improved velocity on his fastball, Mitch Garver is in the conversation as a backup catcher option, and Eli Morgan has pitched well in recent Triple-A appearances. For a club trying to cover the final stretch without overcommitting, those internal options may be the most realistic path, even if the fit is not perfectly clean. [Read more 🡒]