Orioles Acquire James McCann, Cash Considerations from Mets for PTBNL
Another day, another move from owner Steve Cohen and the New York Mets. This time, however, the team is shedding some money rather than spending it.
The Mets have traded catcher James McCann to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for a player to be named later, the club announced via social media Wednesday night. Thus, ending the 32-year-old’s tenure in the “Big Apple” after two seasons.
McCann signed a four-year, $40.6-million contract with the Mets during the 2020/21 off-season and had been their everyday catcher over the previous two campaigns. But after the team acquired Omar Narváez in free agency, signing him to a two-year deal worth $15 million, that signalled the end for McCann in New York.
As part of the deal with Baltimore, New York will be responsible for $19 million of the remaining $24 million that’s left owing on his contract. That amount will be split evenly through 2024, with $9.5 million being sent each season.
The 2019 All-Star is returning to the American League – where he spent the first seven seasons of his career – for a fresh start and will join rookie sensation Adley Rutschman as Baltimore’s 2023 catching duo. In doing so, he replaces Robinson Chirinos as the team’s No. 2 backstop.
After enjoying a career year with the Chicago White Sox in 2020, McCann entered a loaded free-agent class of catchers the following winter, which included J.T. Realmuto. And while the right-hander landed a lucrative deal with the Mets, he couldn’t deliver on the club’s high expectations at the plate.
McCann logged 603 plate appearances over 117 games with the franchise, slashing .220/.282/.328 with 13 home runs, 64 RBIs and a measly 73 wRC+. He was also worth just 0.9 fWAR, down significantly from his 3.7 fWAR with the White Sox from 2019-20.
The second-round selection from 2011 also struggled to stay healthy in 2022, as he was limited to just 61 contests due to an oblique injury and a fractured hamate bone. The former Met wasn’t very productive on the field, either, hitting .195/.257/.282 with a 59 wRC+.
The 6-foot-3 catcher excelled as a backup during his tenure in Chicago, playing behind starter Yasmani Grandal – so there’s hope he can rediscover that magic with Baltimore. But considering Chirinos faltered to a .179/.265/.287 with a 61 wRC+, worth -1.6 fWAR across 67 games, anything should be an improvement from the 38-year-old.
With McCann gone, the Mets will turn to Narváez and Tomás Nido – worth 0.9 fWAR each season since 2021 – as their catching duo next year. The team also has catcher-of-the-future Francisco Álvarez waiting on deck, but the 21-year-old will likely open the year at triple-A Syracuse.
Álvarez, one of the sport’s top catching prospects, made his MLB debut at the end of the 2022 campaign and could return to the majors at some point in 2023.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.