Veteran catcher James McCann has acquired presents from not less than 4 groups, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo writes, and the Purple Sox are one of many suitors checking in on the backstop’s companies. McCann has spent the final two seasons with the Orioles, and whereas Baltimore had proven curiosity in a possible reunion, the membership’s latest signing of Gary Sanchez seemingly closes that door.
Sanchez is considered one of many accessible catchers who’ve already discovered new groups, leaving the Sox in a little bit of a scramble to deal with the place. Talking with Cotillo and different reporters in the course of the Winter Conferences, Purple Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow famous merely that “there have been extra groups in want of catching than there have been accessible catchers. That was the demographic that moved actually, actually shortly.”
Boston’s want is much less obtrusive than most golf equipment, because the Purple Sox are particularly searching for what Breslow described as “the fitting complement and proper backup” for Connor Wong. McCann and Wong are each right-handed hitters, although supervisor Alex Cora downplayed hitting steadiness as much less vital than robust protection. This won’t ideally match McCann both, as Statcast’s metrics have been notably down on his general protection in 2024, and a little bit blended typically all through his profession.
A pair of robust seasons with the White Sox in 2019-20 lined McCann as much as rating a four-year, $40.6MM contract from the Mets in the course of the 2020-21 offseason. Sadly, McCann’s hitting numbers tumbled within the aftermath of the signing, and the Mets then dealt him to the Orioles in December 2022 with New York consuming nearly all of McCann’s remaining wage. McCann hit solely .228/.274/.382 in 459 PA and 134 video games with the O’s during the last two seasons, however his potential to deal with a bit greater than only a backup’s share of catching duties allowed Baltimore additional flexibility in protecting Adley Rutschman’s bat within the lineup as a delegated hitter.
