The trade season is in full swing, and the Colorado Rockies, who were expected to be sellers, have reportedly sent third baseman Ryan McMahon to the New York Yankees for a pair of pitching prospects.

The baseball world knew that the 26-76 Rockies would likely be sellers at the deadline but it was hard to gauge just what they would be willing to do. The team has had tendencies over the last several years to become hesitant to trade their valuable pieces. Notably, the team took McMahon off the table early last summer when he had been an All-Star in the first half. The Yankees had kept note of him, and a deal finally come to fruition.

McMahon, 30, was a second-round draft pick by the Rockies in 2013 from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA. He made his big league debut at the end of 2017 with a Rockies team that went to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. He took on a slightly bigger utility infield in 2018, appearing in 91 games while slashing .232/.307/.376. Following the departure of infield staple D.J. LeMahieu, McMahon took over the Rockies’ everyday second baseman in 2019 due to Nolan Arenado being entrenched at third base.

2019 was the first season in which McMahon finally seemed to break out. In 141 games, he slashed .250/.329/.450 with 24 home runs and 83 RBI, both career highs, while playing stellar defense at second base. He took a slight step back offensively during the truncated 2020 season, setting up a trend of hot and cold streaks for McMahon during his big league career. He rebounded again in 2021 with 23 home runs as he eventually took over the everyday role at third base following the trade of Arenado. He put up a 4.0 bWAR season, the best of his career, while finishing as one of the best gloves defensively in the league.

The Rockies signed McMahon to a six-year, $70 million extension before the 2022 season, keeping him with the club through 2027. The hope was that McMahon could be the foundation for the club moving forward. Unfortunately for McMahon and the Rockies, he never quite reached the stardom that they hoped he would. While playing Gold Glove caliber defense at third base, including multiple finalist appearances, McMahon has never quite found the consistency to take advantage of his home run potential. He has hit at least 20 home runs in each full season since 2019, and currently has 16 this season. However, a career .240/.323/.420 slash and a 29% strikeout rate has hindered his potential at the plate.

Still, McMahon has impeccable discipline at the plate with a career 10.5% walk rate, and a 12.2%  rate this season alone. Critics may point to his home and road splits, which are naturally different because of playing at Coors Field. For his career, McMahon has hit .263/.343/.476 at home and .216/.302/.362 on the road, however, there is precedent for those numbers evening out once he is playing a more neutral environment on a regular basis.

His ability to hit the ball hard will play well for the Yankees and the hope that the confines of Yankee Stadium will help boost his power numbers.

The Yankees have been in desperate need for a third baseman over the last few seasons and McMahon will hopefully fill that need for the next couple of season. He is owed $16 million per season over the next two years, which made him more attractive than the rental piece of Eugenio Suarez. While McMahon isn’t having anywhere near the same offensive season as Suarez, the defense mixed in with the solid enough plate approach and team control should make the trade more valuable.

The Yankees recently DFA’d D.J. LeMahieu and moved Jazz Chisholm to second base, leaving third base wide open. Amid a tough AL East race, McMahon slots in a versatile and excellent defender for the Yankees and gives them another experienced and quality left-handed bat that can bring some thump when he’s on a hot streak.

In return, the Rockies will receive left-hander Griffin Herring, 22, a sixth-round pick last summer. He’s split the season between Low- and High-A, tallying a 1.71 ERA and a 2.83 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16 total starts. MLB Pipeline recently ranked him as the eighth-best prospect in New York’s system.

They also receive right-hander Josh Grosz, 22, a former 11th-round pick who has compiled a 4.14 ERA and a 2.69 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16 High-A appearances. Grosz was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the 21st-best prospect in the Yankees farm system.