With James McCann Struggling, Tomas Nido Deserves Additional Playing Time

After receiving disappointing production from the starting catcher position over the last few seasons, the New York Mets were determined to acquire an impact player at that position over the offseason and they did just that by signing one of the top backstops in free agency.

While the front office was extremely interested in all-star catcher J.T. Realmuto, they ultimately decided to move forward in another direction, signing James McCann to a four-year, $40.6 million contract. Though the former Chicago White Sox had mostly served as a backup catcher for the majority of his career, president Sandy Alderson and his staff believed the 30-year-old was capable of becoming an everyday player, especially since he was coming off incredible offensive and defensive performances.

Splitting time with former teammate Yasmani Grandal, McCann earned 111 plate appearances in 2020, producing three doubles, seven home runs, 15 RBIs, a .247 ISO (career-high), a .339 BABIP, a .378 wOBA, a .433 xwOBAcon, a 7.2% walk rate, a 27.0% strikeout rate, a 143 wRC+ score, a 1.5 fWAR rating and a slashing line of .289/.360/.536/.896.

Making a remarkable impact from behind the plate, the 6′ 3″ catcher compiled 245 2/3 innings, stealing two runs from extra strikes and converting a career-best 51.4% of non-swing pitches into strikes within the Shadow Zone, which was the eighth-highest rate among all catchers who called at least 500 pitches, according to BaseballSavant.com.

But despite McCann’s impressive 2020 performance, he’s struggled to replicate that same success, both offensively and defensively, so far this season and has become somewhat of a liability as a hitter and as a defender.

Over his 79 plate appearances this season, the right-hander has recorded only one home run, seven RBIs, a .042 ISO, a .278 BABIP, a .255 wOBA, a .308 xwOBAcon, an 8.9% walk rate, a 21.5% strikeout rate, a 65 wRC+ score, a -0.2 fWAR rating (tied for third-worst among all qualified catchers) and a measly slashing line of .222/.291/.264/.555.

As for his defense, the veteran catcher has spent 173 1/3 innings behind the dish up to this point, stealing -1 runs from strikes and converting only 46.3% of non-swing pitches into strikes in the Shadow Zone.

Even though it’s just over one month into McCann’s tenure with the Mets, these disappointing metrics are still very concerning and this team needs him to start playing up to his high expectations in the near future. Understandably, the former second-round pick will likely require more than just a few games to break out of his recent slump, however, it’d make sense to start reducing his playing time until he puts these struggles behind him.

Considering the soon-to-be 31-year-old was one of New York’s most notable free-agent signings this past winter, the optics of starting someone over him on a regular basis probably wouldn’t be the greatest look for this organization. Having said that, they also can’t afford to continue receiving below-average offensive and defensive results from their everyday catcher, creating this difficult decision for the coaching staff.

Putting aside how the outside world may view the decision to bench McCann, it seems like that’s a move that needs to be made very shortly, especially since backup Tomas Nido is enjoying an extremely successful start to the season. After making a strong impact during his limited playing time in 2020, the 27-year-old was aiming to pick up where he left off last summer and has certainly lived up to that goal early on, as he’s proving last season’s offensive outburst wasn’t just a fluke.

Despite receiving just 18 plate appearances in 2021, Nido hasn’t allowed his inconsistent opportunities to slow him down at the plate, resulting in his first career triple, one home run, three RBIs, a .313 ISO (career-high), a .382 wOBA, a .432 xwOBAcon, an 11.1% strikeout rate, a 57.1% hard-hit rate, a 146 wRC+ score, a 0.2 fWAR rating and a slashing line of .250/.333/.563/.896.

Considering the right-hander has earned less than 20 plate appearances this season, there’s a strong chance these offensive results will likely regress at some point moving forward, although that doesn’t mean he’ll return to the same hitter who posted a 40 wRC+ score and a -13.9 offensive WAR rating through 144 plate appearances in 2019.

Taking into account the adjustments Nido made to his swing last season, it’s possible he may have finally turned the corner offensively, meaning he could potentially serve as a reliable hitter on a consistent basis. Along with his encouraging offensive progression, the defensive-first catcher has also been outperforming McCann from behind the plate through the first month of the schedule.

Through nine games this season, the former eighth-round pick has tallied 42 1/3 innings and has converted 61.8% of non-swing pitches into strikes within the Shadow Zone, which is the highest rate in the majors among all catchers who’ve called at least 100 pitches.

In addition, the Orangewood Christian HS product has also produced the best CSAA (called strikes above average) (.015), is tied for the sixth-best FrmR (framing runs) (0.5) and owns the 10th-best FRAA (fielding runs above average) (0.5) among all qualified catchers, according to BaseballProspectus.com. As for McCann, the 2019 AL All-Star has generated a miserable -.003 CSAA, -0.5 FrmR and a -0.2 FRAA.

Digging deeper into Nido’s stellar pitching framing, he’s excelled at stealing strikes on both sides of the plate and above the strike zone as well. As a result, the former top prospect has converted 92.3% of non-swing pitches into strikes in Zone 16, 71.4% of them in Zone 12 and 68.8% of them in Zone 14.

In comparison, McCann has largely struggled in those same areas this season, as he’s converted just 72.1% of non-swing pitches into strikes in Zone 16, only 59.0% of them in Zone 14 and 28.3% of them in Zone 12.

Regardless of how the Mets’ coaching staff feels about Nido’s offense, there’s no question he’s been the far superior defender and could make a much greater defensive impact than McCann in the starter’s role. Unless the former Detroit Tiger significantly improves his fielding, it seems manager Luis Rojas may be forced into riding the more productive catcher through the rest of the season, which could see the native of Puerto Rico earning an increased amount of reps during his fifth campaign in the majors.

While it may not seem like it right now, a controversy involving the starting catcher position is beginning to form in Queens and that’s something almost no one probably would’ve expected to happen coming out of one of the busiest offseasons in franchise history.