Amed Rosario’s emergence as a legitimate threat at the plate may be one of the biggest surprises of the season so far for the New York Yankees. New York should really be counting itself lucky, since it started the season with Ryan McMahon as “the guy” at third base. But now, with McMahon as arguably their worst hitter, Rosario is stepping up to handle the offensive production at third base for the Yankees.
Amed Rosario Pushing to Become the Yankees’ Third Baseman
Rosario, 30, is enjoying another productive campaign for the Yankees after re-signing with them in the offseason on a one-year deal. He hit .303 with 5 RBI’s in 16 appearances with New York last season after coming over from the Washington Nationals. This season, across 30 games, Rosario is slashing .279/.316/.547 with 6 home runs, 20 RBI’s and an OPS+ of 138 (the highest mark of his entire career). Though his defense is definitely not a strength of his, he is certainly still making a big push to become the Yankees’ full-time starter at third base.
Ryan McMahon’s Struggles
Though McMahon enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence at the plate earlier in the month, it is safe to say that he has come back down to Earth. Over his last 15 games, he is slashing .149/.149/.298 with 2 homers and 6 RBI’s, which is still better than how he was doing in April, but pales in comparison to how well Rosario has been hitting the ball. McMahon hasn’t even been one of the better fielders in the league this year, like he usually is (at least according to outs above average), so the door is really quite open for Rosario to come in and take some of the starts at third.
In his career as a Yankee, McMahon has a .199 batting average and an OPS of just .605, which is especially bad considering that this is his last season under team control before he hits free agency. So, in essence, if he doesn’t pick it up soon, he might lose his job even earlier than at the end of 2026.
Amed Rosario Slides In
Though Rosario is the hot hand at third base right now, it’s important to remember that he has never had an OPS over .745 across a whole season, so this could be a bit of a lucky streak for Rosario. He also has not been the best defender, posting -5 OAA in just 30 games at third, which ranks in the bottom 3% among all Major League defenders. The Yankees’ initial plan for Rosario was to use him as a platoon player in at-bats against left-handed pitching, so it will take a long stretch of solid play to become a full-time starter.
Still, there is no doubt that Rosario is absolutely tearing the cover off the ball in 2026. His bat speed (73.8 MPH), barrel rate (12.9%), average exit velocity (91.2 MPH), and expected slugging percentage (.499) would all be in the top 25% of qualified Major Leaguers if he had enough AB’s. These stats are certainly impressive when placed next to McMahon’s, but he’ll have to maintain his current numbers at least if he wants any chance of starting over McMahon in an October game.
It’s Still May
Of course, a lot more will happen over the course of the season. The Yankees’ starting third baseman come September might not even be McMahon or Rosario, since the team’s front office finally seems to have found a sense of urgency. Third base is one of New York’s glaring weaknesses right now, but hopefully the competition between Rosario and McMahon will push both players to produce as much as possible.
