McMahon implements plan to 'finish' strong in 2025

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon has rolled all of his 2025 goals into one key word:

¡°Finish.¡±

McMahon, 30, earned his first All-Star Game nod last season, but he noted ¡°once you have those things and get them, you realize how unimportant they are.¡± He has been a Gold Glove finalist at his position the past four years, which means he has the name recognition that could help him get the hardware with one bang-up season, statistically. If it comes to fruition, full appreciation will come later.

¡°At the end of your career, it might be something cool to show to your kids,¡± he said.

For now, though, those accomplishments double as admonishments for a man who¡¯s unfailingly honest in his self-evaluations. To play a part in team goals that he is chasing, McMahon must find wire-to-wire consistency.

His career batting averages in August (.234) and September (.214) are his lowest monthly marks, and the tail-off has been notable on defense. Those months the previous two seasons have seen major drops offensively, along with reduced range and playmaking defensively.

An honest witness to his own late struggles, McMahon has a plan to present a happier finish in 2025 -- which begins on the field with Tuesday's first full-squad workout. A revamped offseason program more than a year in the making could help him make his case.

¡°I sat down with our training staff,¡± McMahon said. ¡°I actually started it this time last year, but it was a little bit too late.¡±

Before getting into the program itself, it¡¯s helpful to pinpoint the causes of his slow finishes the previous two seasons.

Problems were rooted in two physical issues -- tendinitis in McMahon¡¯s knees and right shoulder soreness. Also, an illness after last year¡¯s All-Star break cost him 12-15 pounds to push his playing weight below 200 for the first time since high school. McMahon has always made himself available, as evidenced by the fact he has played at least 151 games each of the past four seasons.

The goal is for McMahon not to have to drag himself through the final weeks.

The Rockies offered part of the solution by signing veteran utility man Kyle Farmer, who will spell McMahon and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar.

The left-side pair is promised either more games off or games serving as the designated hitter as Farmer offers a seasoned alternative.

But McMahon went to work maximizing his training regimen in hopes that he's at his best when he plays.

For years, McMahon¡¯s offseason weight training emphasized power and drive, a logical biomechanical function for a third baseman who has logged at least 20 home runs each of his past four full seasons (not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020). The plan was always to emphasize brute strength. If he bulked up beyond playing weight, it was OK because he would lose some muscle over the course of the season.

But maybe there was another way. McMahon began implementing the new plan this offseason in Scottsdale, where he lives so he can better use the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick training center.

McMahon turned to a speed-based workout that¡¯s counterintuitive, considering he has never stolen more than seven bases in a season and is no threat to begin bunting for hits. But his goal goes beyond stats. McMahon wanted to enter this year with a muscle structure that he can maintain over a full season. Since there was no way to maintain his offseason workout, he planned for a decline. However, the dramatic physical breakdown was an unwelcome side effect.

McMahon explained that his athletic workout plans are broken into three major categories -- ¡°load,¡± ¡°explode¡± and ¡°drive.¡± Since being selected out of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., in the second round of the 2013 MLB Draft, McMahon had emphasized ¡°drive¡± -- which involves heavier bulk-inducing exercises.

The plan has changed.

¡°Instead of lifting to get stronger and bigger, most of my lifts emphasize speed,¡± McMahon said. ¡°This year, we changed it over to ¡®explode.¡¯ So instead of heavier dead lifts, it¡¯s been lighter lifts. It's speed squat, speed dead lift versus normal squat and normal dead lift.¡±

The apparatuses McMahon is using have features that ensure the lifts occur at the proper speed and with perfect form. If he can¡¯t maintain pace or the prescribed technique, the weight amount is reduced. The daily workout patterns can be carried into the season and monitored.

¡°We look at his force plate metrics and see which movements can help better improve his performance and longevity,¡± said Rockies manager of physical performance Trevor Swartz, who prescribes and oversees McMahon¡¯s workouts. "Using the speed movements and Velocity Based Training [VBT], we can better regulate in session with those movements to get better outputs.¡±

McMahon bears little resemblance to the player who bulked up to 220 pounds in the Minors when the Rockies were using him at first base early in his career.

McMahon has played at 210 pounds in recent years. He¡¯s currently in the 207-208 range and figures to reduce by five pounds by the time the season starts. But the lifts will be to keep his weight and strength steady. He also has adopted a shoulder care routine that should be easier to adhere to if his weight and strength are steady.

¡°What we realize is if I¡¯m not going to be able to maintain, if I¡¯m going to lose 10 pounds or whatever, I¡¯m going to be losing all that strength through the course of the season,¡± McMahon said. ¡°So why not train faster at a weight I can maintain the whole year?¡±

If so, some accolades can come his way. But McMahon would rather his efforts to stay in the lineup lead to something that¡¯s important to him, in real time.

¡°My goal is to win more games and get in the playoffs,¡± said McMahon, who broke in with Rockies teams that made the postseason in 2017 and ¡®18. ¡°A group goal is way more fun.¡±