Yankees Considered a Fit for Astros' Third Baseman

Paredes, 27, has a club option for 2027 worth $13.35 million. A right-handed batter adept at pulling the ball for home runs, his 2026 season admittedly hasn't been his best so far. Through 57 games with the Astros, Paredes is slashing .238/.332/.388 with seven home runs, 27 RBI and a 106 wRC+. Last year, however, he belted 20 home runs in just 102 games.

The question is how much the Yankees would value an upgrade offensively in exchange for worse defense. When it comes down to that, the difference between Paredes and McMahon's offense is larger than that of their defense.

There are in-house alternatives for the Yankees to consider, those being Amed Rosario and Jose Caballero. In the case of Rosario, he's best used as a bench bat or designated hitter due to his well-below average defense no matter where he plays. As for Caballero, he's in a competition with Anthony Volpe for the shortstop job, but is an extremely versatile defender who can play almost anywhere. Whether the Yankees want Caballero at a set position or to utilize him as a superutility guy remains to be confirmed.

Ultimately, the Yankees have other more pressing needs like the bullpen and a right-handed hitting catcher, with Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra being far less productive even compared to McMahon. There's also the chance of the Yankees going after a big fish, with Passan linking the team to Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in his deadline preview despite New York's rotation already being among the best in MLB.

McMahon came through with a big hit that drove in the game-winning run against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, but he still needs to show more both at the plate and in the field. If not, the Yankees may need to start looking at ways to improve at third base, with a trade for Paredes being a possible course of action.