The Yankees intend to get Ryan McMahon some work as a shortstop this spring, manager Aaron Boone tells Greg Joyce of The New York Post and other reporters. They’ll evaluate whether they feel comfortable using him as a potential backup option during the early part of the regular season. Anthony Volpe is beginning the season on the injured list after undergoing postseason labrum surgery. That draws utilityman José Caballero into the lineup at shortstop and leaves them without a clear backup at the position.
Amed Rosario has easily the most shortstop experience of any of their depth infielders. He was an everyday shortstop in Cleveland earlier in his career but struggled defensively and has mostly been pushed off the position. Rosario started 11 games there in 2024 and played all of two innings at the position last year. He’s more of a second/third baseman at this stage of his career, though his biggest appeal off the bench is his ability to hit left-handed pitching. Max Schuemann and Oswaldo Cabrera can cover shortstop but fit better at second or third base, while the out-of-options Jorbit Vivas has never started a professional game at short.
McMahon’s professional experience at shortstop consists of three innings for the 2020 Rockies. He didn’t play there at all in the minor leagues. Listed at 6’2″, 217 pounds and a below-average runner, he’s clearly better suited for third base work. McMahon is an excellent defender at the hot corner, ranking second at the position in Defensive Runs Saved (after Ke’Bryan Hayes) and third in Outs Above Average (behind Hayes and Maikel Garcia) over the last three seasons. His range would be stretched at shortstop, but he should have the hands and arm strength to make the routine plays.
That might be all the Yankees would need to consider him for a temporary backup role. He’d still see the vast majority of his time at third base. If they feel McMahon’s a better fill-in at shortstop than Rosario, they could lift Caballero for a pinch-hitter in key spots and would be better protected in the event of an injury.
That’d also help the roster flexibility. Cabrera and Schuemann still have options remaining. They have three bench jobs committed between Rosario, Paul Goldschmidt and a backup catcher (probably J.C. Escarra). Not needing to carry another shortstop would mean they could have Vivas break camp or consider keeping Jasson Domínguez up as a fourth outfielder. If they want a true shortstop off the bench, they’d probably need to select a non-roster invitee like Braden Shewmake, Zack Short or Paul DeJong onto the 40-man roster.
Ideally, that’ll all be a short-term arrangement. Volpe could return early in the season, pushing Caballero back to the super utility role for which he’s tailor-made. The 24-year-old discussed his rehab with Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, noting that he has begun a hitting progression but isn’t at a point where he can risk diving for ground-balls. Volpe indicated he’s not closing the door on making his season debut before April is out, though Hoch adds that GM Brian Cashman suggested a return in May is likelier.
Volpe has been a below-average hitter in each of his first three seasons in the big leagues. He has shown 20-20 potential but with a subpar batting average and on-base percentage. He was out to a better start last year before suffering the shoulder injury in early May. Even if the offensive regression may have been coming regardless, the injury seemed to take a toll on the other side of the ball. The 2023 Gold Glove winner had a surprisingly poor season defensively. Caballero was the better player down the stretch, but the Yankees are hoping Volpe will more forcefully reclaim the starting job once he’s healthy.
Not a bad exercise. Plenty of good defensive shortstops weren’t fast runners. Smart positioning, fast hands and transfer, and strong arms are also contributing factors to making really good ones.
@YankeesBleacherCreature
The “flick” is the one that separates the wheat and chaff for me. The ability to throw the ball using just the wrist and firearms. I’ve seen it (ya, a stats guy using his eyeballs. Go figure) consistently in 2 players, Tulo and Tony Fernandez.
So, non-hitting 3b to play SS in place of the non-hitting SS as the front office decides which non-hitting infielders they will use to plug the holes on the right side of the diamond…. Watching the NYY pretend to field a team without signing or bringing up quality players is pathetic. As many of the fans rejoice lol
As a Yankees fan, why do i always feel as if Crashman is just rearranging the deck chairs and ignoring the iceberg?
But the band played such wonderful music as the ship went down
@TheRaven
I really don’t get the disappointment. Jazz, McMahon and Volpe, when healthy, have all been great defensive players. Anyone who thinks Volpe’s bat is keeping them from winning a chip is an idiot.
lol but only jazz hits lmao. That’s half the infield that can’t hit, get on base, or drive in runs.
Lol because he is.
Because you’re fixated way too much on something that isn’t a big deal at all.
DFA VolpE
“DFA Volpe”..That’ll never happen and they’d quickly regret it if it did. Not every young SS leaves AAA as a ready-made great.
Quit throwing Volpe under the bus(to the media) everytime he makes a mistake and unless you find someone better at SS, give the guy a little breathing room.
He was given the full time job 3 years ago and Caballero is the closest thing Volpe has had for competition for the SS position. How much breathing room should a team that claims it’s championship caliber give a below average starter?
@billy
Below average??? By fangraphs WAR accounting he was a top 15 SS in 2023/2024 with 5.5 WAR. 1.9 in 2023 with a 20/20 season and 3.5 in 2024. If he was really injured this year then there’s legit reason to think that effected his defense last year, resuscitation with his throwing. But defensively he been a top 6 SS his first 3 yards and he’s given them 20/20 production. I’m good with that Let’s see how his defense is when he comes back. I’ll take 2024 production all day.
I think you yourself just said he’s the best SS they have. If he’s your best SS, give him a LOT of “breathing room”, until you get someone better.
There’s more than just WAR. Three full seasons of an 85 wrc+ (27th out of 30), .288 xOBA (29th out of 30). He has the 6th highest K rate and he’s 18th in BB rate.
Since you brought up WAR, only 16 SS qualified with enough PA to even be measured by FG in 2023-2024. Volpe is 14th out of 16; one spot ahead of Ezequiel Tovar. Let’s not pretend as if he’s anything special here…
@billy
because you’re looking at the wrong thing? go to fg and look under batting and set it on 4″dashboard”. on the right side it has offWAR/defWAR/WAR. He ranked 6th in defWAR. His glove was member in question before this 2025 season.
Why are you only talking about dwar? There is more to baseball than just fielding. You conveniently ignored all the above stats I gave you about his hitting. Over the last 3 years he’s been one of the worst hitting starting SS in the league. Okay, great, he was 6th in dwar for the first two seasons of his career then was abysmal last year. Combine his dwar and owar together and what do you have? A below average SS…
Don’t be stupid. Volpe has 2.1 wins above average as per baseball-reference. That’s at age 24, with his prime years still ahead of him.
What has he shown you in 3 years that makes you think he can be an above average starting SS on a team with championship aspirations? Because according to all hitting metrics he is substantially below average. Anyone who thinks he’ll continue to get better at the plate is just wishful thinking. There’s nothing in his underlying hitting data that suggests a substantial turnaround. So the first two of his three year career he’s been an above average DEFENSIVE SS. There are about 50 minor league guys who play SS as well as he does including at least 3 guys who are NRIs in Yankee camp right now.
There was also nothing in Swanson’s underlying hitting stats to suggest there was more there either. .291 xwOBA, 87.6 MPH exit velocity, 4% barrel rate through his age-24 season. He was also 3rd in DRS and 8th in OAA at shortstop between 2023 and 2024. I don’t know if the Yankees have anyone else in camp who is a top 5 defender at shortstop. He may never be a superstar hitter, but I don’t see why he couldn’t ever be like Swanson, like my other comment suggests.
Also, you can definitley get by with a below average hitter, especially if they’re good defensively. The Dodgers won with Tommy Edman getting regular reps. The Blue Jays made it to the WS with Andres Gimenez as their starting 2B. The Astros won 106 games and the World Series in 2022 while having both Yuli Gurriel and Martin Maldonado be their starting 1B and catcher.
Billy,
All they know how to do is regurgitate WAR as if its an end all be all stat that has no flaws. Not like you were ever going to get an intellectually honest argument out of Knicks anyway
@billy @begamin
I’ll stand on what I said. Volpe has been an elite defender in 2 of his 3 seasons, and even in his “down” year he posted a 0 defWAR. Any team serious about contending prioritizes up-the-middle defense — C, 2B, SS, CF. If he was dealing with a shoulder/arm issue, that legitimately explains last year’s regression.
And he’s given us reasons to view him as a productive glove-first offensive contributor. Among all SS with 1,000+ PA since 2023 (33 players), he ranks 13th in doubles, 5th in triples, 12th in HR, 13th in walks, and 7th in SB. BA and OBP are the obvious weaknesses — but look at this lineup: Rice, Jazz, Judge, Beli, Stanton, Grisham, McMahon. Don’t tell me Wells and Volpe’s bats are what’s holding this team back.
When healthy, both have been elite defensively and each give you around 20 HR — plus Volpe adds 20 SB at a high success rate. So the real question is: if Volpe’s healthy and back to his defensive best in 2026, who exactly are you replacing him with that’s equally sound with the glove and a more productive hitter?
If the answer is Lombard Jr., Dax Kilby, or Caballero — fine. But if not, who is putting an elite SS on the market, what are you giving up to get him, and is the difference between them and Volpe actually worth the cost in money and — more importantly — prospect or MLB talent?
Volpe very much reminds me of Dansby Swanson’s first few years in the Major Leagues. Swanson only had a 75 wRC+ through his age-24 season, and at one point had -4 DRS and -5 OAA at shortstop in 2017, his rookie year. He eventually settled in and became a strong defender who regularly hits for above-average power. Both were very hyped when they got to the Major Leagues. Swanson scuffeled through his first few seasons. So has Volpe. I think it’s a very similar case.
The pre 2009 NYY would have signed all stars at 3b & SS.
A young player that already showed 20/20 potential and a gold glove and played ridiculously injured last season? No thanks. He’s staying.
Let’s just keep in mind Volpe was playing hurt all of last season, before we start judging how bad he was. He could have just sat out like most players would have.
I can’t possibly see Vivas making this team. He doesn’t offer anything that the others don’t already give. I want to see Jasson stay up, and honestly would rather even have Paul DeJong make the club.
Sal, the only reason to keep Vivas up is to keep him in the org. Out of options but he could likely more easily slip through waivers a few weeks after OD than at the end of spring training.
O Cab probably could use reps in AAA to make sure all is well after that horrific ankle injury.
And Dominguez needs reps, especially on D. Without an injury in the OF or a return to ‘24 Grisham that won’t happen. Plus a month in the minors ensures he won’t be a Super 2 in ‘27. Not that reducing salary is a huge concern but I would like to see the Yanks stop losing 10 spots in the draft (& IFA $) every year.
Who is our 4th OF then? Surely we can’t be rolling Stanton out there too much if at all at this point. Jasson can get enough reps and learn so much more just from his teammates at this level.
I don’t care about Vivas in the slightest. Let him go, I haven’t seen anything from him that excites me and he can’t play short. I’d rather a pro like DeJong who’s been there and done that.
For me those would be the choices, keep Jasson and take DeJong, dfa Vivas, and have OCab start in Triple A to continue to rehab.
JDom is right now. If he doesnt show improvement against lefties during S.T., they need to send him down to get daily reps.
Rosario, Goldy and presumably Escarra are locks for the bench. So it’s down to the last spot for Jdom, Oswaldo, Schuemann, Vivas, or any of the NRI guys. I think it’ll be Oswaldo because of his versatility. He’s your 4th OF, pinch runner and backup to the backup INF to give you more PH opportunities
Why in the world would you put your gold glove 3rd baseman in McMahon and play him at SS. I don’t get it.
Positional flexibility. Even if this experiment works out, he’ll be the primary third baseman. Jazz is better at second but expect him to occasionally sub in at 3B regardless. Good insurance policy to have for injuries.
Anthony Volpe is trash. Can’t field, cant get on base, struggles to slug even in Yankee stadium. Just like Dominguez, another overrated Yankee prospect.
*waits for Volpe super-fan knicksfancavsfan to throw a hissy fit and recite Volpe’s fWAR for the 100th time this month*
@craven
Below me.
@Craven
No hissy, just facts man. 2/3 of his 3 years he’s been above average with a glove. He had surgery to fix an injury he was playing thru. If that isn’t perhaps a legit reason why he stifled that’s worth consideration then I don’t knife what to tell you. Furthermore, I want him to provide great defense at SS. If he can give me 45-50 extra base hits and stolen bases while being cost controlled them I’ll happily take that by continue to coach him hoping his bat improves before I have to make a decision. If a better SS option becomes Abdullah either from within or elsewhere them i roll with him and show him support from an organizational level. Why not give him confidence instead of striking fear in him that he’ll lose his job? I’m sure he’s motivated to want to be his best. This kid was rushed up from AA. not his fault.
Lol bro wrote a novel in defense of his boy
😂😂😂😂😂😂
@Craven- Stop we all now his man crush is: Miguel Andujar. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Lol. I had a man crush on Alfonso Soriano years ago. These crushes take time. Lol.
I get it, I mean I still have thoughts about Tommy Kahnle and those pants.
@Craven @99
No mam crush on Volpe. I just don’t get Yanks fans that always clamor to give the kids a chance and get younger but are unwilling to go thru the growing pains. This team has enough fire power from other positions to slow rule for the bats of Volpe and Wells too catch up with their gloves and let’s keep it a buck, defense should be the most important part of those two positions. If Volpe can return to 2023/2024 form defensivelythem in good with the 45-50 Xtra base hits and 20 SB.
Now Andujar? Yeah…his bat potential from his rookie year still provokes illicit naughty thoughts.
ewww
Now I get it….
You’re 100% Anthony Volpe’s burner account
😭😂
MLBTR needs NSFW warnings. I wasn’t ready for this thread.
Volpe is fine. He plays solid defense when not being asked to play through a torn labrum and runs well with some pop while being cost-controlled.
Don’t know why you’re ready to move on from Dominguez…That was a solid rookie season in my eyes. He’s coming off TJS as a 20 year old, had limited time to shake the rust off as a 21 year old in the minors because he was playing at the MLB level in his age 22 season. So much time to see if he can actually develop into his limited minor league profile.
Can I ask you a question….which young players in today’s game do you actually approve of?
Cashman is 58 so I’m assuming he only went as far as Nintendo and Super Nintendo. He never got to the PlayStation and Xbox days when you would trade for David Ortiz and Vlad and make them your middle infield in franchise mode. I guess he’s just making up for lost time these last 5 or so years.
At this point they should see if Jeter wants to play SS til Volpe comes back
Maybe even Nomar.
Restart ARods HOF clock
The Yankees are planning to have the oldest starting OF in baseball and they’re considering not carrying a 4th outfielder? But they are going to carry a 38-year-old, weakside platoon 1B who is redundant because their 36-year-old primary DH also bats right-handed?
The steroid era is over Cash. You can’t just load up on aging sluggers, stick needles in their butts, and expect to average seven runs a game anymore.
I think this is going to be the season it falls apart in New York. Aaron Judge has been making Cashman and Boone look way better at their jobs than they really are. The charade can’t go on forever.
@don
I didn’t even bother to fact check whether or not they have the oldest OF but I know he totally that the Yanks had the most productive OF in baseball and it wasn’t close. They had the best OF by a margin of +7 WAR and led, off hand, in HRS, OBP, RBI, BAT AVG, WALK % and OPS. What is there to complain about???
Nothing. The problem is injury risk. The outfield is a young man’s game. Look around the rest of the league. The Yankees guys are great when healthy. But my point is, it’s going to be tough keeping them healthy over a full season without regular rest. They need a 4th outfielder to give them regular rest. So, I believe Dominguez serves more of a purpose than Goldy. That’s all I’m saying.
@Don
I didn’t read anything in the post that suggest the Yanks agent going to have a 4th OF and I’m willing to game that the GM for 20+ years knows they need a 4th OF too. No offense but is common sense. 10 pitchers, 9 man lineup, utility IF, back up C and Goldy leaves them with 4 open roster spots.
They will carry 13 pitchers. Every team does.
@Son
Ok…. Last year they started with the 9 starting lineup, 5 starters, 9 guys out the pen, Grisham (4th OF), Peraza and Reyes (utility guys) and Eacara (C). This year it could be Dominguez, Rosario, Goldy and Escara. If needed. send a relief guy out for another IFa few weeks into the season. These things are fluid but in no shape or form do i see them going without a 4th OF. Keep in mind that Cabrera and Peraza have both played in LF too.
You might want to re-read the article. It details why they might not be able to carry a 4th outfielder. The entire reason for giving McMahon reps at SS is so they don’t have to carry another IF besides Rosario(who they apparently don’t like at SS). Jorbit Vivas is out of options so they either have to carry him or outright him.
My point stands. Goldy is a luxury that doesn’t seem to fit.
@Don
Let me spoon feed you baby bird.
First… this is all the quote ACTUALLY says
“The Yankees plan to get Ryan McMahon some reps at SS this spring just to see if he can be an option as a backup SS if needed, per Boone”.
Caballero the RH will be the starting SS. McMahon the LH will be the starting 3B. Caballero hits LH pitching much better than RH pitching. McMahon the reverse. He hits RH pitching much better than LH pitching. Rosario will be the utility guy on the roster.
****According to the mlbtr writer “(Rosario) is more of a 2B/3B option at this point in his career**** – His words, not mine.
Rosario, who is RH hits LH pitching much better than RH pitching. If McMahon can show he can handle SS decent enough then in certain late inning situations vs a tough RH they may wish to pinch hit Jasson Dominguez for Caballero because Dominguez is a switch hitter that from the LH side his RH very well. Then they can move McMahon to SS for an inning or two and then Rosario can come in to play 3B.
The mlbtr writer didn’t state that but he’s just speculating because Boone didn’t say ANYTHING as to what his roster will be.
Yanks can carry 5 starters, 7 relief pitchers, 9 starting lineup, Goldy (1B), Dominguez (4th OF), Rosario (2B/3B and SS extreme emergency) and Cabrera (2B/SS/3B/OF) as utility guys and Escara (C). They can also move Rosario to 2B and Jazz to 3B.
Yall getting all upset about reps at SS for McMahon as if Boone made his intentions known for the roster as of February 19th. Keep a cool booty folks.
Dude. This isn’t about platoon splits or anyone being upset about McMahon taking reps at short. It’s about two things: defensive coverage, and minor league options.
A). The Yankees will carry 13 pitchers because EVERY team needs fresh arms even the mighty infallible Yankees.
B). While Volpe is injured, Caballero will be the SS, but there is no obvious back up on the roster to cover for injury or fatigue. EVERY team has a plan for covering EVERY position in the event of injury EVERY game. Some positions are easier to cover than others. SS is a difficult position to cover. Hence the Yankees are exploring their options. This is the intelligent thing to do.
C). IF the Yankees were to determine that no player on the current roster provided adequate coverage at SS it would require them to add a player who can provide that coverage. Adding that player would make it difficult to carry Dominguez as a fourth outfielder because most of their bench players are out of minor league options and couldn’t be sent down without passing through waivers.
D). For all of the reasons listed above, I maintain that Goldy in an imperfect fit for the Yankees roster. This is simply a numbers game. I have no feelings about the players involved or who the Yankees give reps to in Spring Training. I don’t care if Boone holds an open competition between Giancarlo Stanton and Ben Rice for the starting centerfield job and plays Trent Grisham at SS. It doesn’t personally matter to me. I’m just analyzing the roster options offered in the article and considering the potential consequences of each possible decision.
@Don
Bro… you’re frustrating. I’m 100% sure they know they need a 4th OF and a utility guy guy or guys that can play 2B/SS/3B and a C. If they feel like they don’t want Rosario to play ANY SS then guess what? They can go with 7 bullpen arms and not 8. It wasn’t that long ago when teams went with 5. And when Volpe comes back they can simply push Caballero to the utility role as he can handle all 3 of 2B/SS/3B. You’re acting like McMahon taking “some” reps is indicative of their final committed solution top the problem. You’re getting worked up about a NON- STATEMENT that HASN’T been said by either Cashman or Boone. I guarantee you that McMahon will not be the first option in the back up SS rule. Furthermore, there is no mandate to carry 8 bullpen guys and they can adjust that number easily if needed.
So let me get this straight. The Yankees refused to let Peraza be SS despite clearly having a howitzer for an arm.
Now they want to have RYAN MCMAHON play SS despite having former Miami SS Jazz Chisholm, Jose Caballeros, and oswaldo Cabrera, the last nonwhite SS was Didi and he was great. Maybe we should let a SS play SS.
@isolated
He’s not going to be the starting SS bro. It’s just reps in ST. He’s going to be the starting 3b.
@knickscavs – I’m fully aware that Caballeros is the starter. My point is they are worried about backup SS when they have Rosario and Cabrera on the roster. McMahon doesn’t need reps at SS. He’s never played there. We had a black hole at 3b for years. Let’s not start jerking him around.
Also, let’s address the elephant in the room. The Yankees never worried about backup SS for the past 3 years with Volpe sucking it up out there.
Here’s how soft Volpe is: He’s so soft, that they subbed him out in the 9th inning of Game 4 simply because they didn’t want him to make the final out of the season, which speak such volumes about the Yankee mentality. And of course Dominguez ripped a double and now will start the year in AAA because he’s not a white kid from Jersey. It’s ridiculous
Pretty sure they just want to capitalize on caballero’s flexibility and not lock him in at ss every game
@sorinotsori
But McMahon has never played SS. Jazz, Cabrera, Rosario all have, and they also have position versatility. Rosario and Cabrera are already on the bench so it makes sense to move them around the diamond. On top of that, McMahon is a lefty so idk why he just wouldn’t play 3b everyday and sub Rosario or Cabrera when they want to give him and Caballeros a blow against lefty pitchers. It just seems like square peg round hole. Yankees can never just do the smart sensible thing
I like having players be ready to play another position but I don’t like this fit. They have Rosario, caballeros, and Cabrera.
Another enthusiasm-challenged year for Yankee fans. I’m old enough to remember the excruciating post Dynasty 1965-on period, but we were winning WS a dozen years later. Then the (“OMG Stump Merrill) period, but new talent came in. Now it seems like a grind–they aren’t a bad team, but always have obvious flaws patched up with too much money chasing too many old players.
Agreed. I came in towards the end of the CBS years myself. To paraphrase the Joker “This team needs an enema.”
what old players are they chasing? Goldy to be a bat off the bench???
They are allergic to finding a good shortstop and love playing people out of position. This franchise is a joke
@negan
So you read that McMahon was taking reps at SS in ST and surmised that the Yanks, who acquired McMahon at the trade deadline and played him everyday at 3b, were looking to move him to SS during the regular season to start a game? Wow…. this world is screwed. I’m sure that’s a “in case of extreme emergency brake class” scenario.
Slowlyyyy realizing as an organization our infield depth is a joke. So slowly.