
The San Diego Padres’ biggest area of weakness may be at catcher heading into next season. The Padres have a chance to pursue a free agent who has been around the way in prior All-Star fashion for over a decade running.
Padres could reinforce battery with James McCann signing

Sam Garcia of San Diego Padres on SI shared a couple of reports which delve into the likelihood of the Padres being able to acquire former 2019 All-Star catcher James McCann, and how they could circumnavigate roadblocks to make an addition like that happen:
“Bleacher Report’s Paul Kasabian named free agent All-Star catcher James McCann as an alternative target for the Padres. He slashed. 234/.279/.388 and made 65 appearances at catcher with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024,” Garcia wrote. “However, MLB insider Robert Murray said in December that McCann might be out of San Diego’s budget. To combat their low spending budget, the Padres are reportedly considering trade options. Starting pitcher Dylan Cease, first basemen Jake Cronenworth, and winner of the 2024 NL batting title Luis Arraez are among players San Diego could trade.”
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McCann would give offensive boost to Padres
McCann would bolster the Padres’ depth behind the plate as they’ve retained starter Luis Campusano but lost key backup Kyle Higashioka to the Texas Rangers back in December of 2024. The former hit .234 at the plate to the latter’s .216 batting average in 2024 and equaled Campusano in home runs (eight) despite having played in 26 fewer games.
That, plus his history of acclaim in the league and his .986 fielding percentage from last season make him an intriguing player for San Diego to consider.