Back in July, the New York Yankees knew they needed to solve their third base woes. Oswald Peraza was clearly not a major-league player, and Jazz Chisholm was getting irritated having to man the hot corner. It was also clear D.J. LeMahieu was no longer a capable piece.

As a result, the Yankees swung a trade with the Colorado Rockies to acquire Ryan McMahon, who made the All-Star team in 2024.

McMahon was definitely an upgrade over Peraza, especially defensively, where the 31-year-old is an absolute wizard. However, McMahon's struggles at the plate were very pronounced.

In 54 games with the Bronx Bombers this past season, McMahon slashed .208/.308/.333 with four home runs and 18 RBI over 185 plate appearances. Sure, the 11.4 percent walk rate was nice, but you also need to put the bat on the ball sometimes.

On the 2025 campaign overall, McMahon slashed .214/.312/.381 with 20 homers and 53 RBI, good for a .693 OPS. That was his lowest mark since his second big-league season in 2018.

But that was far from the worst part of McMahon's output. The crowning touch of McMahon's 2025 was his 32.2 percent strikeout rate, which was the worst in all of baseball.

Yes, a .214 hitter with a .381 slugging percentage struck out more frequently than any other player. Plus, he struck out swinging 26 percent of the time, which also led the league.

McMahon was just ahead of (behind?) Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood in strikeout rate. The difference? Wood smashed 31 long balls and posted an .825 OPS.

For a player to be striking out that much without flashing any power is absolutely inexcusable, and it's all the evidence the Yankees need to know they need to move on from McMahon.

Look: I completely understood the McMahon deal at the time. New York couldn't continue moving forward with Peraza at third base, and McMahon was the best upgrade available. But now, the Yanks need to upgrade from McMahon.

That is obviously easier said than done. Alex Bregman is a free agent, but Brian Cashman can't just snap his fingers and expect Bregman to sign, especially considering he is a Scott Boras client. Could the Yankees swing a trade for Ketel Marte and stick him at third? Maybe, considering how good he is at second base, but it isn't incredibly realistic.

Chances are, New York will be stuck with McMahon in 2026 and possibly longer considering he doesn't hit free agency until 2028. But the Yanks should be exploring as many options as possible to try and move on from McMahon. And no; Nolan Arenado is not the answer.