ARLINGTON, Texas — Cross one third baseman off the Yankees’ trade-deadline wish list.
Ryan McMahon would make a lot of sense as a fit in The Bronx.
The first-time All-Star has been solid, both defensively and offensively (.797 OPS with 14 home runs in 95 games).
The lefty hitter’s production has come with the Rockies, a club that entered the break 29 games under .500 and with virtually no chance of playing in October.
McMahon is 29, signed through 2027 and owed a reasonable $44 million over the final three seasons of his contract.
The Rockies could jump-start a rebuild by trading a player with value — and a player the Yankees, in particular, would value after getting little production from an aging DJ LeMahieu this season.
But McMahon has been assured that however much sense a trade might make, a trade will not happen at the deadline.
Over the past week or two, McMahon said, he grabbed Colorado general manager Bill Schmidt before batting practice one day and asked for a chat.
“We had a good talk, talked about it, and we came to the conclusion that I’m going to stay a Rockie,” McMahon said Monday from Globe Life Field, where he was set to come off the bench for Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic.
McMahon has a 4-month-old daughter and a wife “who would have to pack up the whole house and everything like that,” he said.
He wanted some peace of mind and he got it, as the Rockies will hope to build around him rather than build through the prospects he could command.
The Yankees will have to look elsewhere if they want to upgrade from LeMahieu, although Jon Berti is nearing a rehab assignment and could become an option.
Another option for the Yankees could become Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who primarily plays first base for a fading Blue Jays club.
Guerrero said in 2022 that he would “never sign with the Yankees.”
A year later, he said that his anger with the organization was “a personal thing that goes back with my family.”
Recently, Guerrero told Virus Deportivo that he would be professional and play for any team if traded.
Asked again about the Yankees possibility Monday, Guerrero did not want to clarify whether his stance has softened.
“I talked to my dad about it and I told him that we decided to close that chapter,” Guerrero said through an interpreter. “We don’t want to talk about the Yankees situation anymore.”
American League manager Bruce Bochy slotted Aaron Judge at cleanup, which means Judge is not guaranteed to face electric National League starter Paul Skenes.
NL manager Torey Lovullo said he “most likely” will not ask Skenes to pitch a second inning, even if his first is short.
Skenes, the 22-year-old rookie who already has blossomed into a superstar, might have to put a runner on base.
“It will be cool,” Skenes said of the possibility of facing Judge, whom he has not seen in his 11 big-league starts.
The Pirates phenom averages 99.1-mph with his fastball, but a diving pitch he calls a “splinker” might be his best offering.
“He has special stuff,” Judge said. “You can talk about the velocity on his pitches, but the guy’s a pitcher.”
Judge would only see that pitcher if Steven Kwan, Gunnar Henderson or Juan Soto reaches base.
“We got a good lineup,” Judge said with a smile.
What would be his approach against Skenes?
“Don’t blink,” Judge said, “because that ball’s coming pretty fast.”
