About the Off-Season: Who’s on Third?

About the Off-Season: Who’s on Third?

By Tim Kabel

October 22, 2025

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I don’t know. As the 2025 postseason rolls on without the Yankees, I will continue taking stock. It is time to evaluate what went wrong this season and what needs to happen going into next season. I started by addressing the manager. I then considered players on the current roster who will be free agents or who have options. Now, I am looking at the Yankees position by position. Today I will turn to third base.

Prior to the trade deadline in 2025, there was a revolving door at third base for the Yankees. Oswaldo Cabrera played there until he was injured. Then the spot was filled by Oswald Peraza, Jorbit Vivas, and Jazz Chisholm, Jr.. For a variety of reasons, none of those players worked out at the position. Cabrera probably would have been more than adequate, but he went down with a season ending injury in early May.

The Yankees acquired Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies at the trade deadline in exchange for pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz.  For the season, McMahon batted.215 with 20 home runs and 53 RBI. He had an OPS of 697. As a Yankee, McMahon played 54 games and batted.208 with 4 home runs and 18 RBI. His OPS was .641. McMahon was known to be a much better fielder than he was a hitter. That proved to be accurate. The thought was that McMahon, a left-handed hitter, would benefit from playing in Yankee Stadium. So far, that has not really panned out.

Ryan McMahon is an excellent fielder. He made several plays last season as a Yankee that saved runs and made a lasting impression on those who saw them. Unfortunately, his offense left a lot to be desired. Between McMahon and Anthony Volpe, the left side of the infield did not pack a lot of offensive punch in 2025. That needs to change if the team expects better results in 2026.

Last year, during the offseason, Alex Bregman was a free agent. There were multiple rumors that the Yankees might sign him. They did not. He was signed by the Red Sox but will be opting out of that contract to become a free agent again this winter. Bregman only played 114 games for Boston due to injury. However, he batted .273 with 18 home runs and 62 RBI. His OPS was 821. Bregman is a right-handed batter. Bregman is also known for excellent defense. Bregman will turn 32 in March. McMahon will turn 31 this December.

The Yankees need to do something different. They need to bring in better offensive players to complement Aaron Judge. They have started that process with Jazz Chisholm, Jr., Ben Rice, and to an extent, Austin Wells. I expect that Wells will have a better season in 2026. I suspect he was injured for a portion of 2025 but as is the way with the Yankees, it was not disclosed. I recently suggested that the Yankees sign Bo Bichette to play shortstop. I think the next piece would be to bring in Alex Bregman at third base.

I realize many Yankees’ fans were not in love with the idea of bringing Alex Bregman into the Bronx because of his history with the Astros. Well, he is now one year removed from that. It's hard to imagine, but playing for the Red Sox may make him more palatable to Yankees’ fans than he previously was. At least he would not be coming directly from Houston. The Yankees need to shake things up. Imagine the boost the lineup would get by replacing McMahon and Volpe with Bregman and Bichette. Before people start squawking about how much money it would cost, remember, the Yankees have the money to spend. Also, remember, they were willing to spend boatloads of money on Juan Soto last winter. They will not be spending money on Paul Goldschmidt. They will also not be spending money on Trent Grisham, although he only made five million last year. I never imagined when I was young that one day I would be saying the words “only five million” but here I am.

As far as what to do with McMahon, the best course of action would be to trade him, ideally for at least a bullpen arm and possibly a right-handed batting bench player who could play first base.

 I am tired of watching the Yankees come up short at the end of the season.

The Yankees should be tired of it as well. They need to bring in players who will make a difference. Another advantage of bringing in Bregman is that acquiring him would weaken the Red Sox. Alex Bregman needs to be the starting third baseman for the Yankees in 2026.