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Ryan McMahon Only Needed 2 Games With the Yankees to Embarrass Aaron Boone

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Jul 28, 2025 11:59 AM ET

Only eight plate appearances into his New York Yankees career, Ryan McMahon has already been more productive than the team’s previous third base options.

What might sound hyperbolic or outright false at first glance is actually true, at least from a certain point of view. Analytics — specifically, Wins Above Replacement — proves that argument, and it’s one that Yankees manager Aaron Boone should be ashamed of.

McMahon went 2-for-3 with a two-run double in Sunday’s victory over the Phillies, giving him four hits in his first eight at-bats. FanGraphs ruled that McMahon is already worth 0.2 fWAR through two games in a Yankees uniform.

Amazingly, McMahon has a higher fWAR than the trio of DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, and Jorbit Vivas, who have played a combined 148 games in the infield thus far. LeMahieu provided -0.1 fWAR over 45 games before being unceremoniously cut earlier this month, while Vivas (-0.2) is currently at Triple-A.

Ryan's 1st Ribbies in Yankees Pinstripes pic.twitter.com/hMQvWayR1C
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 27, 2025

Peraza and his -0.6 fWAR remain on the active roster, though he’s shifted into a bench role. Baseball-Reference has been slightly more generous, giving Peraza -0.2 bWAR.

Boone stuck with LeMahieu and Peraza until he couldn’t anymore, and it’s partly why the Yankees have dropped to 5 1/2 games back in the AL East. Injuries and age took their toll on LeMahieu, who only played second after returning from calf and hip problems. Peraza owns a .152 average and .452 OPS in 170 plate appearances.

We’ll see if McMahon can elevate the Yankees, who open a pivotal four-game set with the rival Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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