Three Yankees takeaways from the past week of games and trades
The Yankees' Amed Rosiario claps in the dugout during the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Brad Penner
After returning from the All-Star break by taking two of three games in Atlanta, the Yankees seemed poised to make a run at the AL East-leading Blue Jays. Instead, they dropped two of three north of the border and returned home to lose two of three to the Phillies, who appear headed for a photo finish with the Mets for the NL East title.
Even though they avoided a sweep with Sunday’s 4-3 victory, the Yankees finished the week 5 1⁄2 games out of first and trying to figure out how they’ll get through at least the next two weeks without two-time MVP Aaron Judge.
Three takeaways from the week that was for the Yankees:
1. The news, overall, regarding Judge was as good as could be expected, but . . .
The timing still could not have been much worse. Even with a healthy Judge — who was put on the injured list Sunday with a flexor strain in his right elbow — the Yankees entered the day having lost 23 of their previous 37 games.
Things have never been easy for the Yankees in Judge’s career when he’s missed time. The most recent example is 2023, when they went 25-31 without him after his run-in with Dodger Stadium’s bullpen door in rightfield that resulted in a toe injury. All indications are that Judge won’t be out anywhere close to that long and could be at DH when the 10 days of this current IL stint are up. But the Yankees will have to win some games between now and then or the division could get away from them.
2. So far, so good with Ryan McMahon
The Yankees were desperate to upgrade their third-base situation before the trade deadline and secured one of the names high on their wish list in the 30-year-old McMahon. Not known for his offense — he was hitting .216 with 16 homers and 127 strikeouts in 350 at-bats with the Rockies when he was traded Friday — McMahon still is a big upgrade on that side of the ball over Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas. He went 3-for-6 with a double in his first two games as a Yankee.
Additionally, he’s known as a terrific glove and already has made a handful of standout plays for the Yankees. That’s not a surprise considering that McMahon, who came up with the Rockies in 2017, was mentored then by Colorado infielders Trevor Story, DJ LeMahieu and, most significantly, Nolan Arenado, a 10-time Gold Glove winner at third.
3. Will new infielder Amed Rosario eventually see some time at shortstop? Do not discount that possibility.
Before Sunday’s game, Aaron Boone downplayed that, saying the Yankees see Rosario, acquired from the Nationals on Saturday night, primarily as a solid option at second, third and at both corner outfield spots. Boone didn’t discount Rosario, who has a career .799 OPS against lefties (compared with .667 against righties), forming a platoon with McMahon, the new third baseman. But if Anthony Volpe’s struggles in the field and at the plate continue — and the Yankees don’t start winning far more than they lose — it is at least fair to wonder if that platoon in some way might occur at short.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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