The Yankees are planning on giving infielder Ryan McMahon reps at shortstop during spring training to see if he can possibly be a backup option if needed this season, manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Wednesday.
McMahon has spent nine seasons in the league and has made two career appearances at shortstop totaling 3.0 innings, but he had zero defensive chances in those games. The 31-year-old's primary position is third base where he's played 750 games. He played exclusively third base (54 games) for New York after being traded from the Colorado Rockies at last year's deadline.
In addition to the emergency shortstop appearances which happened in 2020, McMahon has experience moving around the infield, also playing second base (244 games) and first base (70) in his career. His last time playing second came in 2023 before he made the permanent switch to third base the following season.
Prior to that, McMahon played at least some second base in every season since his debut and even spent the majority of his defensive innings at second in 2019. McMahon's time at first base was more sporadic and mostly happened between 2017-2020.
If the experiment of McMahon at shortstop goes well during camp, he will join Anthony Volpe, Jose Caballero, Oswaldo Cabrera, Amed Rosario and Max Schuemann on the current depth chart.
Volpe has been the starting shortstop since his debut in 2023, but he is expected to miss the start of the season while he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. Injury notwithstanding, Volpe's grasp on the starting job is also in question this season after he's failed to continue his development at the plate through three seasons. Meanwhile, after winning a Gold Glove his rookie season, Volpe's defense also took a big hit in 2025.