3 left-handed bats the Blue Jays could acquire if Cody Bellinger goes elsewhere

Ryan McMahon

The Rockies are currently in no position to compete, even moreso with the NL West getting stronger. It's most likely that they have to sell off their current core pieces, and build towards the next competitive window. Enter McMahon, who has emerged as their starting third baseman since Nolan Arenado was traded. McMahon feels like he's just on the precipice of a breakout, but has yet to show it for a full season with a 96 OPS+ over the past 3 seasons. His real value lies with his plus defense, as he posted 8 OAA and 17 DRS (7th in all of baseball). With Matt Chapman currently a free agent, McMahon could be a perfect replacement at a lower cost.

There's still a good amount to be encouraged by with McMahon's offensive profile, despite the middling numbers on the surface. McMahon has always shown a good eye at the plate, with a 10.2 BB% in his career, with above average chase rates, which raise his floor by even a slight margin. What he really excels at offensively is his SwSp% (Sweet Spot%). Hitting the baseball on the sweet spot is an indication of making solid contact, which when done with good hard hit rates like McMahon, it boosts the opportunity for extra base hits. He had a 39.4 SwSp% versus a 33.1% average for other players around the league.

The biggest crux for McMahon poses to be his K%, which spiked up this year to 31.6%. That's a 5% increase from his 2022 mark, which doesn't always bode well, especially when McMahon does not boost the power numbers to justify striking out almost a third of the time. The Blue Jays have been in the bottom 5 teams in K% over the last 3 seasons, encouraging potential that McMahon being placed in the right organization could fix some of his current flaws offensively.

Acquiring McMahon should not be too difficult, as he still has 4 years and $56 million left on his extension from the Rockies. Assuming the Rockies were willing to eat some cash remaining on the deal, an assortment of Zach Pop, Santiago Espinal, and Yosver Zulueta should be more than enough to get a deal done for the third baseman, who the Jays could have plugged in for next season and beyond.