Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

After the 2018 season, new Mets catcher James McCann was non-tendered after a dismal season with the Detroit Tigers that saw him finish the year with -0.7 fWAR.

McCann latched on with the Chicago White Sox the next year and promptly appeared in the All-Star Game. The California native followed it up with a strong campaign in the shortened 2020 season, as he appeared in 31 games, was worth 1.5 fWAR, had a 144 wRC+ and .378 wOBA, and a triple slash of .289/.360/.536.

On Saturday, after nearly two weeks of deliberation, McCann cashed out on his recent success, inking a four-year, $40 million deal with the Mets.

Albeit a small sample size, McCann’s offensive output in 2020 is certainly appealing, especially from the catcher position. More than likely, however, he is due to see a bit of regression.

As Jacob Resnick of MetsMerized mentioned on Twitter yesterday, ZiPS is not particularly keen on McCann going forward.

McCann’s defense has also left something to be desired in recent years as well. During his last full season in 2019, McCann ranked No. 111 out of 123 qualifying catchers with a -7.6 catcher defensive adjustment (CDA) and No. 117 with a -10.2 fielding runs above average (FRAA).

However, there is a silver lining, in that McCann saw a vast improvement in his framing abilities in the shortened 2020 season. The catcher ranked in the 88th percentile in framing, according to Baseball Savant. Dilip Sridhar of MetsMerized takes a deeper dive into his improved framing here.

McCann will rightfully call the shots behind the plate going forward, with Tomas Nido likely backing him up. Beyond that, the Mets will presumably have Ali Sanchez and Patrick Mazeika waiting in the wings as some reserve corps. However, the Mets might need to explore bringing to camp an additional catcher or two, as the pipeline is rather thin at the moment.

So what else is on the radar for the Mets? They have already taken the money they saved when second baseman Robinson Cano was suspended for the 2021 season due to a second PED violation and signed McCann and relief pitcher Trevor May.

The Mets may now shift their attention to prized free agent outfielder George Springer, who they have been heavily linked to the last few days, with Buster Olney of ESPN going as far as to say he would “bet his family’s farm in Vermont” on the two sides matching up for a deal.