Ryan McMahon's slow start continues in Yankees' loss to Athletics: 'I’ll keep working and try to turn it around'
· Yahoo Sports
There's not much to critique the 2026 Yankees so far this season.
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Even with their 3-2 loss to the Athletics, the Yankees (8-3) have the best record in the American League and lead their division by 2.5 games. But what Wednesday night's defeat showcased was that the offense will have its off days, but for Ryan McMahon, those days seem more common, especially early on this year.
McMahon has never been a consistent hitter in his career. His two best seasons came in 2019 and 2021 with the Rockies when he batted around .250 and slugged 23-24 home runs. But across his first 10 games this season, the veteran infielder is 2-for-26 after going 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts -- the second punchout being the final out of Wednesday's loss with him as the tying run.
"If I knew, I don’t think I’ll be in the slow start," McMahon said after the game. "Hey, I’m grinding. I’m not happy about it, I’m sure other people aren’t. At the end of the day, it’s about the team winning. I’ll keep working and try to turn it around."
McMahon, who is best known for and still is a plus-defender, has struggled ever since being acquired by the Yankees at last year's deadline. In 54 games with the Yanks in 2025, McMahon slashed .208/.308/.333 with an OPS of .641 to go along with four home runs, eight doubles and 18 RBI.
The third baseman took questions from the media following the loss on Wednesday and when asked about the whys and hows of his slow start, McMahon answered with every variation of "I don't know" you could think of.
It's an early-season issue that manager Aaron Boone and the organization hope resolves itself. In the meantime, Boone has changed up the lineup, benched McMahon for Amed Rosario against certain pitching matchups and even started McMahon at shortstop to get both him and Rosario in the lineup.
Wednesday was McMahon's first start at short, and the Yankees skipper said he looked "great" and made tough plays "look routine." But defense has never been the problem with McMahon wherever he plays on the diamond. And with Jose Caballero struggling at the plate while the team awaits the return of Anthony Volpe, the left side of the Yankees infield needs a jolt.
Boone believes McMahon can provide that and defended his third baseman by pointing out how early it is in the season and that he will continue to use him in the lineup as he sees fit.
"Mac's a good major league hitter. It's 10 games in, okay?" Boone said. "He's scuffling right now, but the reality is, the last three games, he's been on base four times too, with walks and hits and big at-bats.
"We want him to improve even who he's been obviously in his career, and he's off to a slow start right now, but a number of our guys are, as well. He'll get it rolling and trust that he will, especially against some of these good right-handed matchups."
Boone is correct that it's very early in the season, and that others on the team have not hit to the back of their baseball cards. But it's also hard to ignore that after 65 games as a Yankee, McMahon hasn't shown that consistent offensive presence the team needs.
Aaron Boone was asked what he's seen from Ryan McMahon at the plate:
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 9, 2026
"Mac's a good major league hitter. It's 10 games in, okay? He's scuffling right now, but the reality is, the last three games, he's been on base four times too, with walks and hits and big at-bats.
We want him… pic.twitter.com/1A2jSjoz2H