One of the topics few are willing to discuss in depth is the performance of catcher James McCann who had seemed to be poised in Detroit and Chicago to take the step into becoming an under-the-radar solid catcher and credible hitter. He’d earned a lot of playing time between the 2015 and 2019 full seasons during which he seemed poised to advance. During that 2019 season he hit .273 with 18 HRs and 60 RBIs while playing his first season for the White Sox. Then in the abbreviated 2020 season for Chicago he hit .289 with 7 HRs and 15 RBIs in about a fifth of a season’s worth of ABs. Those numbers would extrapolate to All Star level.
Consequently when the Mets were bypassing catching options who looked far more expensive. Once again there was a clamor to try to pry J.T. Realmuto away from Philadelphia, but he wound up with a late January contract for five years at $23.1 million per season which set a new standard as the highest price ever paid for a catcher.
The Mets instead went defense first with seemingly acceptable offense for a year shorter on a four year deal to nab James McCann. His $10 million per season for 2021 through 2024 seemed a relative bargain price by comparison and it seemed like the new regime was operating with some outside-the-box thinking on identifying and securing a true bargain.
Well, McCann’s introduction to the National League has thus far been a rough one. Granted, he’s far from being alone in the production challenge with his bat, but what’s even more concerning is that his defense has not been everything it was advertised to be. He has looked at best competent but never stellar back there. It was not quite at the Wilson Ramos level where certain starting pitchers demanded a different catcher, but it was no Johnny Bench or Jerry Grote back there.
The real problem, however, has been the Charlie O’Brien bat he’s been providing. For fans who don’t remember O’Brien, he was an amazing catcher and adept at nailing would-be base stealers but struggled to hit throughout his career. As a part-time player for the Mets over four seasons he accumulated about one full year’s worth of offense. His numbers were ugly -- .212 batting average with 8 HRs and 59 RBIs over 580 ABs.
Now the scary thing is that McCann isn’t even on that pace of production. Right now through 117 ABs he’s hitting a sub-Mendoza .197 with 2 HRs and 10 RBIs. Extrapolate that over a 550+ AB season and you’re looking at 10 HRs and 50 RBIs. For that he’s being paid 20 times O’Brien’s highest salary ever with the Mets. That is not good.
During his recent foray into a starting catcher assignment he’s perked up quite a bit. He’s currently hitting .269 with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs in fewer than 50% of the ABs given to McCann. With the rash of injuries the Mets have left Nido behind the dish with McCann either on the bench or in the lineup at first base. Obviously that situation will change when Pete Alonso is back and playing again. However, what will happen behind the plate is still something of a guessing game.
In previous Mets regimes salary always dictated playing time. You saw many, many instances of truly mediocre players penciled into the lineup due to the size of their paychecks when understudies were doing significantly better. Will the Mets go with the hotter hand in Nido or will they try to see if McCann can rally to improve his output?
For now they are on the hook for another $30 million in salary after this season, so cynical Mets fans think they will revert to McCann. If he starts showing more with the bat and defensively, then that decision could have some merit. However, if Nido continues to demonstrate both sides of the game as he’s done thus far this year, how do you sit him because he’s earning minimum wage as your primary justification?
6 comments:
Apparently, Nido made adjustments to his swing, improving leg drive and hip rotation. Seems to work. Play him! Early and often. Hope McCann will do better when it warms up. He’s hit some warning track shots.
Look were all hoping that the disaster that is Lindor/McCann will improve (fingers and toes crossed) quickly otherwise were in big trouble going forward. The only plus is you can combine the 2 catchers because then the financial hit is manageable but of course Lindor would make the Bay deal seem trivial by comparison.
I still would consider Ramos as.a sign before the trade deadline ended.
If performance is rewarded, Nido will get the bulk of playing time.
Mack, Ramos started 2021 like a house on fire - 9 for 32, 6 HRs. Since then, however, 15 for 88, no homers. Seems done? Maybe he'll heat up again. I'm guessing "stick a fork..."
I don't consider myself qualified to judge Catchers on their defense, but I've read many times that the pitchers give him a lot of the credit gor their success. And, looking at their ERAs compared with their career #s or those in '19-'20,it's very hard to argue with that. And when our backup is providing even more on both sides of the plate, splitting the starting job 50-50 is far from out of the question.
Nido commented before the season that he has been working with a "hitting guru" for the past 2 Winters, and it seems to be paying off big-time. Maybe that's the guy who should be our HC.
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