The New York Mets have secured their catching position for the next couple of years as James McCann has finally agreed to a four-year deal. The 30-year old veteran joins the team after a couple of strong offensive seasons with the Chicago White Sox.
.@Mets, catcher James McCann reportedly agree to 4-year deal, per MLB Network insider @JonHeyman. pic.twitter.com/CXgEeBdz5e
— MLB (@MLB) December 12, 2020
McCann brings what Wilson Ramos lacked behind the plate. He is an improved pitch framer and is a catcher that the Mets pitching staff will be happy to work with. Offensively, he has found his stride by hitting .276/.334/.474 with 25 home runs and 75 runs batted in over the last two seasons.
McCann vs. Realmuto
The Mets had to choose between an expensive J.T. Realmuto for six years or a more suitable option for two years. With the history of catchers declining as they get older, the Mets’ wiser choice was to bring in McCann before another team swept up both. Though some still prefer Realmuto, the type of contract dictated that McCann was the better option.
McCann joins an offense that was one of the best in 2020 despite getting minimal production from their catchers. The intriguing part of McCann’s offense is his hard-hit percentages and exit velocities steadily increasing over the past four seasons. Despite heading into his age-31 season, the Mets feel like he is coming into his own at the plate.
Tomas Nido will backup McCann behind the plate in 2021. McCann lost time to fellow All-Star Yasmani Grandal behind the plate in 2020, but expect McCann to be out there for 115-120 games like he has throughout his career. Now that the catching situation is solved, the next focus will be between the duo of George Springer and Trevor Bauer.