At the time it was a highly-debated move. When the Mets signed James McCann ahead of the 2021 season to a four-year, $40M deal, there was either intrigue or outcry by fans. The reason for the intrigue: the guy had been an All-Star in 2019, was lauded as a great defensive catcher, and even showed some pop at the plate with the White Sox.
During his time in the Southside of Chicago (2019 and 2020), McCann slashed .276/.334/.474 with 25 homers, 29 doubles, 116 wRC+, and 3.8 WAR. What’s not to like about those numbers from a catcher with solid defensive abilities as well?
The first signing of the Steve Cohen era was praised by then team President Sandy Alderson, who said in a statement, “James has established himself as one of the best dual-threat catchers in the game. His leadership and presence in the clubhouse were instrumental in guiding a young pitching staff into the postseason in 2020.”
Fast forward to 2022, and in the Mets’ brief postseason run Tomás Nido, a career backup who is making less than one-tenth of McCann’s average annual salary, was the starting catcher for all three Wild Card games. McCann was healthy, but Buck Showalter gave the nod to Nido in the Postseason. That should sum up what should be evident now. McCann’s time in Queens is quickly coming to an end.
McCann never seemed to find his groove in New York. It’s been said time and time again that some players can’t handle the pressure of playing in the largest city in America, and it seems as though McCann is one of them. After stints with the Tigers and White Sox, two franchises with lower expectations, New York wasn’t kind to McCann.
During his time in Queens, McCann seemed to regress, possibly due to bad luck with injuries. McCann missed over two months in 2022 due to a broken bone in his hand that required surgery. Then, an oblique strain shortly after returning from the first injury causes some more missed time.
Combine that with the obvious pressure that mounted from having the top prospect in all of baseball waiting in the wings, and the result was another disappointing season. McCann played in just 61 games, slashing .195/.257/.282 with just three home runs and 18 RBI. This all good for a paltry 55 OPS+ and -0.1 WAR.
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When McCann started to cool off in a big way at the plate, the narrative was that even though he wasn’t a good hitter he still provided good defense. And, for the most part, that’s still true. However, McCann and Nido’s defensive statistics show similar defensive performance.
Nido was a better catcher when it came to framing (seven catching-framing runs to McCann’s two) and defensive runs saved (13 for Nido and five for McCann). Though, McCann did have a slightly better caught stealing rate at 24% to Nido’s 21%.
The similar defense, combined with McCann’s injury misfortune, is likely why Nido became the catcher of preference for Showalter down the stretch. As well as just the general flatness at the plate by McCann.
Looking ahead to 2022, the elephant in the room when discussing Mets‘ catchers is Francisco Álvarez. MLB’s top prospect got a small taste of the big leagues at the end of 2021. While he showed flashes, he will have to make great strides, mainly defensively, in the offseason to be ready for a bigger role next season. However, the Mets have a solid number two in Nido, who showed this season that he can provide serviceable catcher play for the bulk of a season.
The Mets may add another veteran option at catcher to bridge the gap, if necessary, until Álvarez is ready. Nido can pick up the slack in the meantime, but as for McCann his time in Queens seems to be at an end.
