Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

While still very early, the Mets’ season has been a bit iffy thus far. “A mixed bag,” as general manager Zack Scott put it. There’s a lot that could be said about the offensive struggles, but one guy in particular who has underwhelmed is catcher James McCann.

Signed in the offseason to replace Wilson Ramos, McCann hasn’t been able to surpass or even equal Ramos’ production yet. After going 0-for-4 in Friday night’s 2-1 loss to the Phillies, his batting line sits at an ugly .214/.290/.268. Of course, it is still early and he has plenty of time to turn it around. But in a year in which the Mets’ bats have stumbled out of the gate, McCann’s struggles have been part of the problem.

One area that Ramos severely lacked in was defense, and the Mets brought in McCann with the hopes that even if he didn’t tear the cover off the ball, he would provide a more reliable defensive presence. Well, the early numbers on McCann’s glove work haven’t been pretty either. He’s posted -0.7 framing runs, -0.006 called strikes above average, and -0.1 blocking runs.

He also had that pivotal passed ball on Friday that led to two runs scoring on a strikeout. Those runs would prove to be the difference in the game as they were the only runs the Phillies scored. In addition to that passed ball, he’s allowed 10 wild pitches on the season.

While McCann is certainly not solely to blame for the Mets’ early mediocrity, they’re going to need a little more thump from the catcher position if they want to seriously compete this year. While no one is expecting McCann to be a star hitter, he’s going to need to produce more, especially in the power department. Possibly more importantly, he’ll need to be more of a reliable presence behind the plate.

Some Mets fans may have been disappointed when the Mets passed on J.T. Realmuto and went for McCann instead. To expect McCann to be as good as Realmuto — arguably the best catcher in baseball — would be unreasonable, but to be a playoff team, the Mets don’t need McCann to be quite that guy. They just need him to be a solid defensive catcher and hit well enough to stay in the lineup, while the big hitters need to click and fully find their groove.

The Mets should be fine. But McCann is a pivotal piece of puzzle that needs to turn it around for the cogs of the machine to run efficiently.