The New York Yankees may have to make a difficult decision here.
On Tuesday night, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone elected to start Amed Rosario at third base against the Athletics.
It was a rather peculiar move for one reason: Aaron Civale was on the mound for the A's, and Civale is a right-hander.
When the Yankees acquired Rosario at the trade deadline last summer, they did so to have his bat against lefties. That's also why they re-signed him over the winter.
But with Ryan McMahon hitting just .087 thus far in 2026, Rosario is becoming more and more of a potential full-time option over at the hot corner ... or at least someone who could play more regularly.
Boone's decision paid off, as Rosario smashed two home runs in New York's 5-3 win, including a go-ahead three-run blast in the eighth inning.
Is this something the Yankees could do quite a bit more moving forward?
McMahon entered the season as New York's starting third baseman, and the general consensus is that it will stay that way. McMahon is making $16 million this year and in 2027, so trading him will be difficult. The Yanks also probably aren't going to want to bench a player making that much money.
New York Yankees infielder Amed Rosario. Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.It might be for the betterment of the team, though. Or at least the lineup.
Yes, I understand that McMahon is a fantastic defender. Rosario? Not so much. But can the Yankees really live with McMahon's bat right now?
New York already has a couple of other dead spots in the lineup with Austin Wells and Jose Caballero. Having three of them will prove very problematic, even if the top half of the order is stacked with dangerous sluggers.
Rosario is a lifetime .273/.308/.401 hitter. Against righties, he bats .263/.295/.375. No one is going to confuse him for Alex Rodriguez. But if we're being completely honest, McMahon has been abysmal away from Coors Field throughout his career.
In fact, when you take the Coors effect into consideration, Rosario has actually been a better hitter than McMahon.
Will the Yankees actually bench McMahon in favor of Rosario? It seems unlikely for a variety of reasons, money being the primary one. But if the former continues to produce at this pitiful rate, expect the latter to get more and more looks at third base.
Or perhaps New York really will make a move between now and the trade deadline.
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