Being in the 2nd percentile in any baseball stat usually means you're headed for the waiver wire.

When that stat is whiff rate or strikeout percentage, it often means a trip to Triple-A. But for Ryan McMahon, those scary numbers are just part of a confusing situation. The New York Yankees have finally settled on a third baseman. After moving Jazz Chisholm to second, watching DJ LeMahieu decline, and hoping Oswald Peraza would improve, they've found their guy.

But he's a complicated player to support.

McMahon is a paradox. He swings and misses a lot, but when he makes contact, the ball goes far. He stepped in at third base after the trade deadline and immediately stabilised the defence while puzzling everyone with his hitting.

The Swing's Power

Let's get straight to the point. The swing-and-miss problem is real. McMahon had a 32.3% strikeout rate last season. That's high. It's almost too high unless you're hitting 40 home runs. He was in the bottom 2% of the league in making contact.

But look at what happens when he does hit the ball:

Exit Velocity: 95th percentile

Hard Hit Rate: 89th percentile

Walk Rate: Almost 12%

This shows that McMahon has great raw power and a good eye, but his swing has weaknesses. He hit .214/.312/.381 with 20 home runs and an 86 wRC+. That's below average.

Still, the Yankees see potential. McMahon tends to hit the ball to the opposite field, but if the coaches can get him to pull the ball just a bit more, the short right field in their stadium will turn long fly balls into easy home runs. He has the potential to hit 30 home runs if he can just stop swinging at air.

Solid Defense

If the offence is inconsistent, the defence is reliable.

That's why he plays every day. The Yankees haven't had this kind of stability at third base in years. McMahon is a great defender. Last year, in 1,265 innings at third, he had:

.976 fielding percentage

10 defensive runs saved

6 outs above average

In the playoffs, pitching and defence are key. It's valuable to have a guy who catches everything hit to the left side of the infield. He saves runs and prevents bad innings. You can accept a .214 batting average when he's preventing hits every night.

A Way to Handle Lefties

There's one big problem that can't be easily fixed. McMahon struggles against left-handed pitchers. He hit .184 against them. It's not good.

Luckily, the team is built to handle this. That's where Jose Caballero comes in. The Yankees don't need McMahon to be great every game. They need him to hit well against righties and play great defence. When a tough lefty is pitching, Caballero can play, keeping the defence strong and giving McMahon a rest.

It's not ideal. Ideally, your starting third baseman wouldn't need a platoon partner. But Ryan McMahon brings valuable skills that the Yankees needed. If he reduces his strikeout rate by just 5%, he could be an All-Star. If not, he's still the best defensive third baseman they've had in a long time. It's a risk worth taking.

On Wednesday, South Africa defeated India by 408 runs in the second Test, securing their first series victory in India in 25 years. Spinner Simon Harmer played a key role, taking six wickets.

For a chase of 549, India's performance was poor, getting bowled out for just 140 on day five in Guwahati. This loss meant South Africa swept the Test series 2-0.

This marks India's biggest defeat at home in terms of runs and their fifth loss in seven home tests, which includes a 3-0 defeat by New Zealand last year.

Harmer, the 36-year-old off-spinner, had impressive figures of 6-37. This win marks only the second time South Africa has clinched a Test series in India, the first being in 2000 under Hansie Cronje.

Ravindra Jadeja put up some resistance with 54 runs before Keshav Maharaj had him stumped. Maharaj then took the final wicket of Mohammed Siraj, with Marco Jansen making an amazing catch.

India also lost the first Test in Kolkata in just three days on a pitch with inconsistent bounce. South Africa once again outplayed the hosts in their own game of spin on a favourable batting track.

The visitors declared their second innings at 260-5 on day four, setting India a record chase. The Indian batting lineup couldn't deliver and never came close to the target.

Earlier in the day, India had some luck when Jansen had Sai Sudharsan caught behind, but the delivery was ruled a no-ball. Sudharsan was only on four runs at the time.

In the following over, Kuldeep Yadav survived when Aiden Markram dropped him at first slip off Harmer's bowling. Kuldeep was also on four.

But India's relief was short-lived. Harmer soon bowled Kuldeep for five, securing the first wicket of the day.

Harmer then dismissed Dhruv Jurel for two runs, and soon after, sent back captain Rishabh Pant for 13, leaving India struggling at 58-5.

The batters fell quickly on a pitch where South Africa had scored 489 after choosing to bat.

India were dismissed for 201, giving South Africa a first-innings lead of 288. However, South Africa chose not to enforce the follow-on and batted again.

Left-arm quick Jansen took 6-48 in India's first innings, adding to his earlier quickfire 93 with the bat.

South African all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy starred with the bat, scoring 109, his first Test century.