Welcome to the 2025 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2025. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

No. 5, Ryan McMahon (1.2 rWAR)

Since he was drafted in the second round of the 2013 MLB Draft, Ryan McMahon has been a stalwart of the Colorado Rockies.

He debuted at the end of 2017, and after bouncing around the infield trying to find a home for his bat, became a fixture at third base when Nolan Arenado was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020. McMahon, unsurprisingly, dazzled defensively at third and was a four-time Gold Glove finalist with the Rockies, but never won the award. In 2024, he was named the Rockies’ lone All-Star..

McMahon’s Rockies career was highlighted with stellar defense and streaky offense. In 100 games with the Rockies in 2025, he slashed .217/.314/.403 with 16 homers, but struck out 31.7% of the time. He also set a franchise record 0-for-34 streak from April 20-30 (which he snapped with a seventh-inning solo homer against the San Francisco Giants). Earlier in the month, he posted a seven-game hitting streak – his longest of the season.

Defensively, McMahon posted a 10 DRS, which was his lowest since 2020, when he spent the majority of his time at second. That didn’t stop him from making crazy plays, though, like this one:

Or this signature move (which he one-upped later in the year):

Once again, he was still named a 2025 NL Gold Glove finalist (but lost to Ke’Bryan Hayes).

Halfway through the year, though, McMahon’s Mile High tenure came to an end.

He was traded to the New York Yankees on July 25 in exchange for two pitching prospects. He played 54 games in the Bronx, and slashed .208/.308/.333 with four home runs. He also continued his high strikeout rate, doing so 33.5% of the time over 159 at-bats.

But his defensive prowess continued with plays like this:

And, most famously, this:

In terms of WAR, McMahon posted a 1.2 rWAR with the Rockies and a 1.1 rWAR with the Yankees in half as many games. He posted a 1.3 fWAR in Colorado, and a 0.6 with New York.

It will be interesting to see how McMahon continues to develop with the Yankees, since he was able to slide lower in the lineup and be a role player rather than be “the guy.” The Yankees also have more resources than the Rockies do, so he will be able to utilize those throughout the full season. His contract is up at the end of the 2026 season, so we’ll see if he returns to the Bronx.

As far as the Rockies go, though, he certainly leaves a gaping hole, especially defensively. Kyle Karros ended the season as the heir apparent and showed promise. However, he is still young and raw. Unfortunately, though, there aren’t many other options, and Paul DePodesta seems open to trying anything. Nobody is safe.

But for the first time since Nolan Arenado was traded, the Rockies have questions at third base. It still seems to be Karros’ position to lose, but anything is possible.

Regardless, as the saying goes, “I back, you back, we (always) back RyMac!”

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!