James McCann was the second high-profile free agent that signed with the New York Mets, when he put pen to paper on a four-year, $40.6 million deal late last year. He is now appointed as the catcher of the future for the team, at least the foreseeable future, that is.
McCann held a press conference this week and offered his thoughts about the Mets’ direction, the season ahead, and the team’s ace.
For him, one of the most important things will be establishing a successful working relationship with the Mets’ ace, Jacob deGrom. For McCann, it is very important to make deGrom feel comfortable pitching to him.
“I think that Jake is a phenomenal pitcher. I think that he’s gonna rank up there with some of the best that I’ve ever caught,” McCann told reporters on Tuesday via Zoom. “And I think that the pressure really for me is to get onto his page.
“He’s a guy that has found success and sustained success at that. It’s my job to come in and figure out how I can make him happy, figure out how to best make him who he is. He’s not a guy that I’m gonna come in and try and change or try and do something different with. It’s a guy that I need to get on his page.”
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The New York Mets’ catcher said he talked to deGrom in the offseason and then again this week, and he is ready to ask all the questions to him as the two build a strong relationship.
“The best way to do that is to catch him and get know him,” McCann said. “I’m really looking forward to learning from him as well, because he’s obviously mastered a craft that few can master.
“We communicated a little bit in the offseason and we actually had some good conversations today. Just kind of talking about what he likes to do, what his approach is, and really just — me trying to get on his page probably means that I’m gonna ask him a lot of questions, probably to the point where he gets annoyed by it. The little bit that I have dealt with him, I know that he’s kind of a no funny business type guy. So I’m sure my questions will eventually annoy him. But it’s just gonna be me trying to figure him out.”
McCann then spoke about the state of the team, and its strenghts.
“I really like our rotation,” he said. “I think you look from top to bottom, there’s a lot of strengths. Our lineup, there’s a lot of depth there. I don’t want to pick out one particular thing. I think this club, really honestly, is built to do a lot of things really well.”