New York Yankees Facing Surprising Problem Before Opening Day

The New York Yankees' roster definitely looks impressive heading into Opening Day. They boast a loaded lineup full of MVPs (both current and former), and once Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon return, they may very well lay claim to the best starting rotation in all of baseball.

But the Yankees are facing one rather surprising problem going into the 2026 MLB season, and it's the shortstop position.

With Anthony Volpe recovering from shoulder surgery, New York will have Jose Caballero starting in lieu of him to begin the year. That's fine. But it's what the Yankees have behind Caballero that could be problematic.

Because New York will probably be placing J.C. Escarra on the 26-man roster, that's one less bench slot for an infielder. Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario are locks, and Randal Grichuk will probably end up winning the final roster spot.

That means players like Oswaldo Cabrera, Paul DeJong and Max Schuemann — all of whom can play shortstop — will be on the outside looking in come March 25, and Ryan McMahon will be tasked with playing the backup shortstop role.

The Yankees have been experimenting with McMahon at the position throughout Spring Training, and it hasn't gone very well. While McMahon is an elite third baseman, he has looked awfully uncomfortable at short, and it could end up posing a significant issue for New York on days where Caballero isn't playing — or manning a different position.

It's only temporary, because Volpe should be back relatively early in the season, which would push McMahon back to a full-time role at the hot corner. But an error in March or April counts the same as an error in September.

I'm not saying McMahon can't get it figured out, because he has a fantastic glove. But the Yankees are asking a player who has played a grand total of three innings at shortstop throughout his career to take on such a role to start the season.

That's a little scary.

The solution would be to send Escarra down to the minors, have Ben Rice serve as the No. 2 catcher behind Austin Wells (like last year) and put one of Cabrera or DeJong on the roster to hold down the fort as the backup shortstop. But it doesn't appear that New York is keen on letting Rice play backstop in 2026.

It's a rather odd problem to have, and it's not something you would have expected, but it is there, nevertheless. We'll see how McMahon is able to handle himself until Volpe gets back on the field.

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