What the Yankees' trade for Ryan McMahon means for the Guardians’ postseason push

At long last, it’s finally happened. The Colorado Rockies are embracing their role as a seller at the trade deadline. 

And, unfortunately for the Guardians, it’s benefited a longtime rival. On Friday afternoon, news first broke that the Yankees had agreed with the Rockies on a trade that sent McMahon to the Bronx in exchange for pitching prospects Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz. 

It’s a landscaping-shifting trade that will get a bit more attention because of the fact the Yankees are involved, but it also could have a huge impact on the Guardians' push toward the postseason. 

What the Ryan McMahon trade means for the Guardians’ postseason push

Cleveland entered play on Friday at 51-51, which put them three games behind the Red Sox for the final American League Wild Card spot and five games behind the Yankees for the top Wild Card spot. 

And now the Yankees are better. 

While McMahon is only hitting .217 and leads the National League with 127 strikeouts, he was an All-Star last year and has  posted a .820 OPS in his last 39 games. Yankees third baseman had combined for a lowly .645 OPS. 

The Guardians have already played both of their regular season series against the Yankees, but it was just nine months ago when the two teams faced off in the American League Championship Series. 

Although the Guardians weren’t going to be in on McMahon and aren’t in the same division as the Yankees, this trade has a huge impact on Cleveland. 

While the Yankees’ return for McMahon may seem a bit surprising considering he still has another year of team control left, Joel Sherman reported they’re going to pay the rest of his contract. 

It remains to be seen if the Guardians will invest in their MLB roster and try their hardest to challenge the Yankees in the Wild Card race this year, but it’s important to remember that McMahon isn’t going anywhere until next year, giving him two postseason runs to do something to break Guardians fans’ hearts. 

And although McMahon staying out of the American League Central may look like a win on the outside, this move means that the Yankees are pivoting away from Eugenio Suárez, which increases the chances he ends up with the Tigers or another club that’s in the Wild Card hunt. 

But there’s still some positives. This trade serves as the proverbial white flag in Denver (which is weird to say about the team with the worst record in MLB but nevertheless), which means they could be open in listening to offers on some of their other players like Mickey Moniak, who could be the perfect solution for the Guardians’ right field problems.

There’s also some solace in the fact the Guardians are set to play the Rockies next week. While they theoretically shouldn’t need any help against the team on pace to set the worst record in MLB history, Colorado getting rid of McMahon doesn’t hurt.