The Yankees opened a series against the Toronto Blue Jays in the Bronx on Monday night without Ryan McMahon in the starting lineup, a day after the club returned home from a rough 2-7 road trip.
New York announced its lineup before first pitch, and McMahon was not in it. The club is trying to steady itself after losing 7-6 to the New York Mets in its most recent game, a loss in which McMahon went 1-for-4 with one stolen base.
That decision carried extra weight because McMahon is in his second season with the Yankees and came into Monday batting.183 with 22 hits, three home runs, 13 RBI, 11 runs and two stolen bases in his first 44 games of the season. He was also listed in the same conversation as a 2024 MLB All-Star carrying a $16 million salary, but the numbers have not matched that reputation early in the year.
For the Yankees, the stakes were plain. They entered the night in second place in the American League East at 28-19 through 47 games, and home was supposed to be the place to stop the slide. Instead, the lineup card reflected how much the club has been searching for answers after the road trip exposed problems that have gone beyond one player.
The tension around McMahon is not just about one bad week or even one bad month. Among the facts that define his season is a batting line under.300 in slugging terms from a corner spot, along with talk among fans about whether his defense can keep justifying the role if the offense stays this light. That makes Monday’s omission less like a routine rest day and more like a sign that the Yankees are willing to reconsider how they use him while trying to recover in the division race.
The next test comes immediately in the Bronx, where the Yankees need the series against Toronto to do what the road trip did not: show they can hold a lead in the standings while sorting out a lineup that still has not settled around McMahon.
