Rafael Devers #16 of the San Francisco Giants. Getty
The New York Yankees are prepared to part with struggling third baseman Ryan McMahon, and one new trade pitch published Monday would send him and prospects to the San Francisco Giants for a former Boston Red Sox slugger and Yankee-killer.
But swapping a $16 million expiring contract for Rafael Devers' deal that runs through 2033 raises the obvious question: Would the Yankees be dumping salary at all?
The framework calls for McMahon plus a couple of moderately significant prospects, none of them high-end, going to the San Francisco Giants for Devers, according to Yanks Go Yard writer Stephen Parello. Parello published the idea Oct. 19. That is a bolder alternative to the bad-contract swaps Joel Sherman of the New York Post floated — Harrison Bader, Victor Caratini and Nolan Arenado. Sherman reported the club could steer McMahon's $16 million toward other uses.
GettyRafael Devers of the San Francisco Giants, formerly of the Boston Red Sox.
San Francisco finished 65-97, and Devers is owed roughly $211 million through 2033, according to MLB Trade Rumors . Only the Colorado Rockies finished worse in the National League. Parello wrote that the Giants would love to shed that contract, and trading it for one year of McMahon at $16 million could appeal to them.
Matt Chapman adds another complication. The third baseman, owed $100 million through 2030, had sports hernia surgery that cut short his 2026 season, Parello wrote. Chapman bats right-handed and posted a .768 OPS against lefties, so Parello sees McMahon as a workable platoon partner.
New York would not shed money in this deal. McMahon is owed $16 million in the final year of his contract, while Devers' remaining guarantee runs roughly $195 million higher. In other words, the trade swaps one season of obligation for seven. Parello treated McMahon's salary as a vehicle for landing a major bat, not a way to cut payroll.
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Their offensive numbers sit far apart. McMahon hit 11 home runs with a .636 OPS this season, according to Pinstripe Alley 's review of his season . Devers hit 37 homers with 98 RBIs and a .258 average in 148 games . That is more than three times McMahon's home run total.
Parello added that Devers posted a .988 OPS in the second half despite a core injury.
"He would be perfect for the Yankees," MLB insider Buster Olney said on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" podcast . "Because, basically, all he would have to do with the Yankees is just hit. He's got Aaron Judge there."
Olney's argument is that Devers would only need to hit, with Judge anchoring the lineup beside him.
"I think he can fake it at third base. But when you have a superhero playing shortstop, which I believe Lombard will be, you don't need a gold glover playing third base for you," ESPN's Paul Hembekides said .
Hembekides expects George Lombard Jr. to handle shortstop, which would reduce the defensive demands at third.
Parello conceded the commitment is steep and described it as the cost of bringing in one more elite hitter. He labeled the idea a long shot.
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