The Yankees finally addressed their longstanding, and glaring, third-base problem.
It wasn’t with the top option on the market, though.
They acquired Ryan McMahon from the Rockies on Friday in exchange for Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz — two pitching prospects.
The Yankees had strong interest in Diamondbacks slugger Eugenio Suárez, but there was a sizable gap in compensation talks, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported. Suárez entered Friday leading the National League in RBIs (86) and second in home runs (36).
McMahon, 30, is a strong fielder, which the Yankees have increasingly needed as the their defensive woes kept worsening in recent days, particularly on the left side of their infield. He is tied for third among all third baseman in outs above average (four) this year.
He has largely struggled at the plate, however. He entered Friday with a .217/.314/.403 slash line along with 16 homers, 35 RBIs and a .717 OPS. His 127 strikeouts were also most in the National League and second-most in MLB. But as a lefty swinger, Yankee Stadium’s short porch could benefit McMahon, who was an All-Star last year.
“I know there’s real offensive potential in there,” manager Aaron Boone said before Friday’s series-opener against the Phillies at Yankee Stadium. “I know he’s had offensive success as well as some struggles there over the last calendar year or two. It seems like over the last month, he’s really started to swing the bat like he’s capable of, because he can impact the ball, he can control the strike zone. He’s had some swing-and-miss that has probably hurt him a little bit.
“But then he can really defend over there. The handful of times that we’ve played against him and I watch him, you’re like, ‘That’s what it should look like.’ He moves really well and has that prototypical good third baseman [look].”
McMahon also has stark home-away splits, which is always a concern surrounding players at the extremely hitter-friendly Coors Field. He has a lowly .189/.265/.324 slash line away from home, and his OPS (.589) is 267 points lower than his OPS (.856) at home.
“I think McMahon would flourish for them,” a National League scout previously told The Post’s Greg Joyce. “He’ll be playing more meaningful games. He’s a Gold Glove defender at third base, really, really good. … I think with the short porch, being a left-handed hitter, he could flourish there.”
The Yankees are taking on the entirety of McMahon’s contract, The Post’s Joel Sherman reported. He is owed roughly $4.5 million for the rest of this year and $16 million each of the next two years.
Herring, a southpaw, was the Yankees’ No. 8-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He owned a 2.22 ERA in eight starts at High-A Hudson Valley and a 1.21 ERA in eight starts at Single-A Tampa.
Grosz, a righty, was the Yankees’ No. 21-ranked prospect. He owned a 4.14 ERA in 15 starts with High-A Hudson Valley.
Third base had become a major part of the Yankees’ brutal fielding woes this year. Yankees third basemen entered Friday with a combined minus-6 in outs above average — tied for fourth-worst. They had a combined 0.6 WAR from third basemen — sixth-least in MLB. Offensively, Yankees third basemen entered Friday with a combined .646 OPS — eighth-worst in the league.
DJ LeMahieu did not want to play there in order to ease the burden on his body, and manager Aaron Boone had opted to play Jazz Chisholm Jr., traditionally a middle infielder, there with rough results. After the Yankees DFA’d LeMahieu earlier this month, Boone has largely moved Chisholm to second base — where he’s better — and given Oswald Peraza a run of games at third base.
But Peraza, formerly a highly regarded prospect who started there again on Friday, did nothing to win the job, struggling both at the plate and in the field. Now, it’ll firmly be McMahon’s.
“Really excited,” Boone said. “He’s been an All-Star third baseman, really good defender. Has had some ups-and-downs offensively this year. … He’s a presence and he can really defend over there at third and has for a number of years.”
