Though there’s no longer the chance of a James McCann reunion on the South Side, it turns out the odds were never favorable in the first place.
On Thursday, the New York Mets traded their catcher and cash considerations to the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named later. It wasn’t until after the deal that we learned from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that McCann had a limited no-trade clause, which allowed him to block any move involving the White Sox and four other teams.
The White Sox and Mets have been popular mock trade partners on social media in recent days due to the teams’ offseason moves and respective needs. The speculation is largely due to the Mets signing catcher Omar Narvaez, considering they already had top-catching prospect Francisco Alvarez on top of Tomas Nido and McCann. Though some fans suggested a deal that involved All-Star closer Liam Hendriks, our Nik Gaur opined several days ago that any sort of trade would’ve been of the McCann-and-cash-for-Leury-Garcia variety instead.
McCann slashed .195/.257/.282 (34-for-174) with six doubles, three homers, 19 runs scored, 18 RBI, and three stolen bases in 61 games with the Mets in 2022. He saw limited action after spending nine weeks on the Injured List with a left hamate fracture (May 11 to June 24) and a left oblique strain (July 10 to August 4). He appeared in one postseason game in the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres, entering as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning of game three.
The 32-year-old is a veteran of 783 MLB games between the Tigers, White Sox, and Mets. During his stint on the South Side, McCann had a breakout 2019 season where he hit .273/.328/.460 with 18 home runs, 60 RBI, 108 wRC+, and .789 OPS to earn his first-ever All-Star Game nod. After another strong showing during the shortened 2020 season, highlighted by catching Lucas Giolito’s no-hitter on August 25, 2020 vs. Pittsburgh, McCann signed a four-year, 40.6 million deal with the Mets in free agency.
The White Sox undoubtedly enjoyed McCann’s better years, and the team could’ve likely benefited from having him back as another catching option. Though expecting his offensive numbers to return to his 2019-20 levels would’ve been unrealistic, McCann developed great chemistry with Lucas Giolito, for example, and would’ve meshed well with Pedro Grifol’s staff in terms of game planning and attention to detail.
Barring any additional moves, Yasmani Grandal looks to be the White Sox’ primary option at catcher as the team hopes for a bounceback performance. Beyond him, Carlos Pérez and Seby Zavala are on the 40-man roster and both will likely see the rest of the action during the 2023 season. The newly signed Sebastian Rivero figures to provide additional depth at Triple-A Charlotte along with the recently re-signed Xavier Fernández.
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Featured Photo: © Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
