Andres Chavez
The New York Yankees will start a new series, this time against the Athletics. Right-hander Cam Schlittler will toe the rubber for the Bombers, and fellow righty Aaron Civale will do it for the visitors.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone still hasn’t revealed his lineup for the game. That usually happens about three or four hours before the game. The skipper, however, said on the Talkin’ Yanks podcast that Amed Rosario will be in the lineup on Tuesday for the series opener.
Are The Yankees Benching McMahon?
Boone didn’t say it with those words, but it probably means that he is benching struggling third baseman Ryan McMahon, who has only logged two hits in 23 at-bats to this point. It’s the most logical move, and while it isn’t necessarily permanent, the skipper probably feels McMahon could use a mental break.
According to Yankees insider Gary Phillips, the move makes sense from a matchups standpoint, not just to give his scuffling infielder a bit of a breather.
The Athletics’ Aaron Civale has reverse splits for his career (.733 OPS vs RHB, .716 OPS vs. LHB), so it makes sense to have Amed Rosario in there with Ryan McMahon 2-for-23 thus far,” Phillips posted on X.
McMahon Needs To Wake Up
McMahon is hitting .087 with a 30 wRC+, no home runs, and two RBI. He is also striking out 37.9 percent of the time, which is obviously not ideal. The Yankees made him their third baseman after trading for him last year, at least against right-handers, which is why it’s surprising to see him on the bench against Civale, a righty. Now, we know why.
The Yankees are probably not ready to permanently bench McMahon, but if he doesn’t hit his stride soon, he could potentially see his playing time gradually reduce. Maybe this is a wake-up call for a batter who, believe it or not, has an ongoing five-year streak of hitting 20 or more home runs.
Rosario is hitting .167 with a -24 wRC+, so he hasn’t been much better. He has only gotten seven plate appearances to this point, though.
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