Will the Rockies Trade Ryan McMahon at This Year’s Deadline?
It's hard to say if Colorado would be willing to part with McMahon ahead of the trade deadline this summer.
DENVER, Colo. –– Things have never been worse for the Colorado Rockies. After 50 games, things have never been worse for any big league ballclub in the Modern Era.
At 8-42 and 20.0 games back of the final National League Wild Card spot before Memorial Day, Colorado’s season is already over. Interim manager Warren Schaeffer, however, sees the remaining 112 games as an opportunity.
“We are in a very unique situation at the moment, and, for me, opportunity abounds in the situation we’re in. If we don’t look at it like that, shame on us. Shame on us,” Schaeffer said on Thursday. “We could take this moment that we’re in right now and we could look back three years from now and say, ‘Boy, we used that the right way to move forward.’”
Three years ago, the Rockies were the only team at the trade deadline to not make a deal and improve the future of their roster. What followed has been three consecutive 100-loss campaigns and a lack of depth that’s impacted the wins and losses nightly.
A change may be brewing. Following the firing of Bud Black, the franchise leader in managerial wins, possibilities for other developments seem more likely.
Colorado and GM Bill Schmidt have shown more of a willingness to deal the best of the club’s talent to contending teams over the past two deadlines. However, for every player dealt is another they didn’t, dropping the ball in maximizing a return for those on expiring deals.
They simply can’t afford to do it again, which brings us to Ryan McMahon.
Schmidt fielded phone calls from clubs in need of a third baseman last summer. In the midst of an All-Star first half that saw the four-time NL Gold Glove Award finalist slash .281/.358/.483 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI through June 25, McMahon’s value was at its pinnacle.
Following a conversation between Schmidt and McMahon just before the June 25 production-peak, it was decided that McMahon would stay put, in part because he was a favorite of owner Dick Monfort.
What’s His Value?
Making $12 million in 2024 with three years and $48 million remaining through his age-32 season, RyMac was a relative bargain for a player consistently producing 3.0 WAR seasons last June.
Since being removed from trade conversations, McMahon fell into an awful slump that derailed the final three months of his season. He slashed .200/.291/.305 with six home runs and 23 RBI following the decision to keep him in Colorado.
His start to 2025 didn’t erase concerns that McMahon was on the wrong side of 30, having reached the age during the offseason. The Los Angeles area product struggled worse in April, even setting a new franchise mark with an 0-for-35 slump.
“I think Mac takes on the burden of leadership on this team. If Mac is struggling, he feels it pretty heavy because he knows that he is one of the leaders on the team and he cares. You can’t fault that,” Schaeffer said of McMahon.
When the calendar flipped to May, RyMac breathed a sigh of relief. The team’s no. 3 hitter was dropped to fifth in the lineup and immediately homered in San Francisco. He’s stayed hot this month, leading the Rockies with four home runs, 13 walks and a .965 OPS.
Two of his 20 hits in May came off the bench against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Schaeffer, in hopes of keeping his roster fresh while involving more of them on a nightly basis, gave McMahon a rest during the early parts of the contest before deploying him in better matchups against right-handed relievers.
“It’s my job to put him in the best positions to succeed,” Schaeffer said. “I want to keep him fresh and confident. He’s a great leader, he leads these guys, he’s taken a huge step forward in that fashion this year.”
Another team with more roster depth and lineup protection might soon find similar offensive outbursts from McMahon.
Who’s In Need?
Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are two teams interested in acquiring McMahon. As clubs with much better depth than the Rockies, it’s easy to see how a platoon could get more out of him. McMahon, who has suited up for at least 150 games in each of the last four seasons, is one of only eight players who have done so every year since the start of 2021.
“Ever since he’s been here, he’s been a good leader,” said Ezequiel Tovar through the Rockies’ interpreter Edwin Pérez. “He’s someone who has a lot of veteran years, a lot of experience. So he’s been able to help us, not only just defensively, but hitting. He helps us with a lot of elements of the game. He does it well, and he’s very communicative.”
Though the Cubs are the only team without a home run from a third baseman this season, the Brewers have been arguably worse at the hot corner. Those at the third sack have a .450 OPS for Milwaukee, lowest in all of Major League Baseball.
The Cubs (.540), New York Yankees (.551), Baltimore Orioles (.569), Minnesota Twins (.585) and Detroit Tigers (.591) are the next five at the bottom in terms of OPS. When using FanGraphs’ Def metric to see who could benefit most from McMahon’s glove, the Mets (-2.7), Brewers (-2.9) and Dodgers (-4.0) rank 28th, 29th and 30th, respectively.
Considering all those clubs — excluding the O’s — are currently around the top of the standings and considering a postseason push, any number of teams should be willing to take on the roughly $38 million remaining on McMahon’s contract.
The last time they dealt a homegrown third baseman taken in the second round out of California, they were lambasted for giving away a generational talent and receiving little in return in the embarrassing Nolan Arenado trade.
Whether or not Colorado would be willing to trade McMahon is anyone’s guess. Rather, it ultimately may be at Monfort’s whim.
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