Yankees' key trade acquisition quietly struggling worse than Anthony Volpe

New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe has been consistently making headlines for his slumbering bat and inexcusable defense. Most recently, he was benched for two games as a part of a brief “reset” following yet another fielding error on Saturday. However, while Volpe has garnered most of the unwanted attention that plagues New York, one of the Yankees' new players is quietly underperforming even his meager numbers and has still been able evade the media firestorm.

Third baseman Ryan McMahon came to the Yankees from the Colorado Rockies a week before the trade deadline out of pure necessity, replacing struggling infielder Oswald Peraza. McMahon got off to a hot start in pinstripes but has quickly cooled off, beginning to mirror his predecessor. In the month of August, and coming out of his hot streak, he is hitting just .150/.246/.233 with one home run entering Tuesday.

This is far below what McMahon normally produces, being a career .240 hitter who has notched 20-plus home runs in every full season since 2019. His numbers this month sit just below Volpe’s .169/.213/.338 with two home runs in August.

Outside of his hot streak, McMahon has slumped nearly all season long, hitting .216/.315/.384 with 17 home runs on the year. Making his acquisition a little questionable were his home/away splits, which heavily favored the mile-high atmosphere in Denver.

We don’t yet know what to make of McMahon as the Bombers third baseman as it is far too early in his fledgling Yankees tenure, but it would be more than reasonable to expect better than his August stats. Although his year hasn’t been ideal, McMahon owns one of the highest average exit velocities in the game at 93.2 mph. At Yankee Stadium, one could easily imagine his slugging numbers begin to lift off at some point.

For the most part, McMahon has been able to avoid the scrutiny that surrounds the team thanks to his solid defense, posting two outs above average during his time in the Bronx. With the Yankees' defensive ineptitude constantly costing the team as it did in last year’s World Series, McMahon’s glove is a much-welcomed sight at the hot corner.

His glove aside, McMahon has been one of the game’s worst hitters throughout the month of August. Although his defense sparkles, the Yankees desperately need him to bounce back at the plate if they are going to go deep into the playoffs, much less, make it there.