Adding Ryan McMahon was a start. Now the Yankees need a bullpen boost

NEW YORK – In-transit to New York, the newly acquired Ryan McMahon solid glove and lefty swing might not have saved the Yankees on Friday night.

“(He’s) a really good player, great defender,’’ said Paul Goldschmidt. “He’s a good hitter and he’s going to help us.’’

Beginning Saturday afternoon, McMahon at least addresses the Yanks’ glaring third base problem, but there’s still a rotation that needs upgrading and a bullpen that badly needs a transfusion.

And there was just enough lousy defense – though not from the usual suspects – to further lament a 12-5 Philadelphia Phillies’ win at Yankee Stadium, though Kyle Schwarber did the heavy lifting.

Kyle Schwarber's perfect Stadium swing wrecks Yankees

With his built-for-the-Bronx swing, the lefty hitting Schwarber mashed a pair of two-run homers, most notably to extend a one-run Philly lead in the eighth.

That homer came with two out, after the unreliable Ian Hamilton unforgivably walked Trea Turner ahead of Schwarber and then fell behind a hitter with (now) 36 home runs.

And the Yankees had no lefty reliever to combat Schwarber (or Bryce Harper behind him), because they’d already employed their lone overworked lefty, Tim Hill.

“It’s a challenge right now, but we’ve got to have guys step up,’’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of a worn bullpen that isn’t as deep or dynamic as in recent pinstriped seasons.

In the Phils’ four-run seventh, Weaver yielded a tie-breaking three-shot to J.T. Realmuto – the sixth homer Weaver has surrendered since May 31, preceding a hamstring injury.

By the ninth inning, Scott Effross (4 runs, 8.44 ERA) was backing up bases, then soon packing for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, optioned with Jorbit Vivas to accommodate McMahon and a fresh bullpen arm.

Yankees' internal, external bullpen help

Relievers Fernando Cruz (oblique), Mark Leiter Jr. (leg stress fracture) and Yerry de los Santos (elbow) are trending toward August returns, and lefty Ryan Yarbrough (oblique) is building up again.

Luis Gil (lat) is likely looking at one more minor league rehab start before he’s added to the rotation, and maybe Friday’s starter Will Warren moves to the ‘pen, though that’s merely speculative.  

But that doesn’t help the Yankees right now as they watch the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays slip further away, with a 5.5 game division cushion entering Saturday.

So, getting McMahon from the Colorado Rockies for two not-top-tier minor league pitchers (and absorbing a $16 million annual salary through 2027) was a pinstriped start.

“All lines are in the water right now. There’s a lot of talk, you never know what’s going to happen,’’ said Boone, on the topic of acquiring bullpen help before the July 31 MLB trade deadline.

In that realm, the likes of right-handers David Bednar (costly), Jhoan Duran (more costly) and Ryan Helsley could be in play, along with lefty Danny Coulombe, but the demand is high.

And what’s your strategy to add a starter?

Is it to try to pry away controllable pitchers like Joe Ryan, Mitch Keller or Edward Cabrera?

Is it to land one of the Arizona free agent walk year starters, Merrill Kelly or Zac Gallen?

Or do you just try to add relatively less expensive veteran depth like Charlie Morton or Adrian Houser?

Yankees' on-field mistakes continue

“We’re in a good spot to make a run here,’’ said Austin Wells, who launched one of four Yankee solo home runs – along with Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Volpe, on his bobblehead night.

But Warren, who was otherwise efficient, yielded a two-strike hit to Trea Turner ahead of Schwarber’s homer in the fifth – two costly mistakes.

Warren’s throwing error on a potential double play comebacker didn’t cost him runs, and all four Philly runs in the seventh were still earned despite Goldschmidt’s rare throwing error.

Instead of pocketing a slowly hit, wide of first grounder, Goldschmidt threw wide of home, where the fast Turner was likely to score anyway.

It just allowed Nick Castellanos to take an extra base, and he soon trotted home on the Realmuto three-run blast.

“Too aggressive of a play by me. A mistake,’’ said Goldschmidt, whose defense is the least of worries in the Bronx.

“There’s really good teams in our division,’’ said Goldschmidt, with the Yanks now in jeopardy of losing their top AL wild card spot. “We still have a lot of confidence in ourselves.’’

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Adding Ryan McMahon was a start. Now the Yankees need a bullpen boost