John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
James McCann cannot get anything going at the plate.
The Mets catcher received raucous boos after another hitless performance against the Dodgers last night. McCann went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.
McCann has battled through injuries this season but as of right now he’s on pace for a bottom-10 offensive season by a Mets catcher ever.
There have been 124 catchers in Mets history to accumulate at least 130 plate appearances in a season. McCann’s slash line of .185/.237/.266 with two home runs and thirteen runs batted in has equaled a wRC+ of 47. That’s the ninth worse mark ever.
The 10 worst (Min: 130 PA):
- 1963 – Norm Sherry – 9 wRC+
- 1967 – Jerry Grote – 32
- 1963 Choo-Choo Coleman – 38
- 1973 – Duffy Dyer – 39
- 1967 – John Sullivan – 40
- 1966 – John Stephenson – 40
- 2019 – Tomas Nido – 41
- 1965 – Chris Cannizzaro – 45
- 2022 – James McCann – 47
- 1989 – Gary Carter – 51
Tomas Nido‘s 2022 season presently ranks as the 15th-worst season in Mets history with a 55 wRC+.
Essentially, the tandem of McCann and Nido at the plate is the second-worst offensive output by Mets catchers, only trailing the 1963 tandem of Sherry and Coleman.
Throughout baseball, no team has received less output from their catchers than the Mets. The Mets catching group has a 50 wRC+ and a collective slash line of .203/.249/.264.
Only seven teams in the league have received better-than-average offensive contributions from their catchers. One team is the Cubs, led by trade deadline target Willson Contreras and his 131 wRC+. Even Christian Vazquez, who Houston acquired from Boston and was a Mets target, has a 111 wRC+. Either one of them could’ve been acquired to bolster the Mets weakest position but were not.
The Mets had a chance to break up this group or shake things up with the promotion of top prospect Francisco Alvarez. Instead, they’ll roll with a starting catcher who has worse numbers than Jacob deGrom at the plate.
McCann this season – .185/.237/.266
DeGrom career – .204/.238/.251
