Orioles Acquire James McCann From Mets

The Mets and Orioles swung a commerce late Wednesday evening, with Baltimore buying James McCann and money concerns for a participant to be named later. New York is reportedly masking $19MM of the $24MM nonetheless remaining on McCann’s contract over the following two years. To create a spot on the 40-man roster, Baltimore designated infielder Tyler Nevin for project.

It appeared like solely a matter of time earlier than McCann modified groups. New York agreed to phrases with Omar Narváez on a two-year contract final Thursday. As quickly as information of that settlement broke, it grew to become clear the Mets have been going to deal certainly one of their incumbent backstops, with McCann the likeliest candidate. Neither McCann nor Tomás Nido could possibly be despatched to the minor leagues, and carrying three catchers on the 26-man roster would’ve been difficult. That’s earlier than contemplating prime prospect Francisco Álvarez, who figures to get an prolonged MLB look at some point after debuting late within the 2022 season.

McCann will safe his roster spot in Baltimore. The O’s entered the day with only one catcher on their 40-man roster, making it an inevitability they’d herald some assist from exterior the group. After all, that backstop is AL Rookie of the 12 months runner-up Adley Rutschman. McCann should transfer right into a backup position with the O’s.

The previous couple seasons have been tough for McCann, who first joined the Mets over the 2020-21 offseason. New York positioned a large guess on the veteran backstop’s earlier couple seasons with the White Sox. The College of Arkansas product had hit .276/.334/.474 by way of 587 plate appearances for Chicago between 2019-20. That handily dwarfed the .240/.288/.366 mark he’d posted over the previous four-plus seasons with the Tigers, and the Mets clearly felt he’d turned a nook offensively. They inked him to a four-year, $40.6MM free agent contract that beat most expectations.

New York gave McCann prolonged run in his first season, beginning him at catcher for 97 of their 162 video games in 2021. His manufacturing extra intently resembled that of his Detroit days, nevertheless. He hit .232/.294/.349 over 412 plate appearances, connecting on simply 10 residence runs after hitting 18 longballs in his solely full season with the White Sox. Nonetheless, McCann was again within the Opening Day lineup for the second season of the deal because the Mets hoped for a bounceback marketing campaign.

That wasn’t to be, as he struggled with each underperformance and damage this yr. The veteran fractured the hamate bone in his left hand/wrist in mid-Could. He required surgical procedure and misplaced six weeks to rehab. Just a few weeks after his return, he suffered a pressure in his left indirect and went again on the injured checklist for rather less than a month. In between the well being setbacks, he managed only a .195/.257/.282 line in 61 video games. By the point the postseason rolled round, Nido was beginning behind the dish. McCann was relegated to a depth position, whereas Álvarez was with the massive league membership in a catcher/DH hybrid capability.

The previous two seasons definitely aren’t what the Mets had envisioned once they signed McCann. Consequently, they’re left to pay down a notable chunk of the remaining cash on his contract. His deal was backloaded, with a $600K signing bonus adopted by successive $8MM salaries within the first two seasons. He’s due $12MM in every of the following two years, the majority of which can stay on the Mets’ ledger.

Whereas New York solely sheds $5MM in precise wage, the financial savings from the commerce are a bit greater than that for proprietor Steve Cohen and his entrance workplace. New York goes to shatter all 4 thresholds of the aggressive stability tax, which means they’re paying a 90% tax for each extra greenback they spend subsequent season.

Tim Healey of Newsday tweets that New York’s CBT hit on McCann will recalculate to embody the 2 years and $19MM they’re nonetheless paying — a $9.5MM common annual worth. His contract had beforehand counted for $10.6MM towards the staff’s tax ledger (reflecting the AAV of his four-year deal), so that they’ll shave roughly $1.1MM off their CBT quantity. That interprets to $990K in tax financial savings this yr. In the event that they surpass all 4 CBT thresholds once more subsequent yr, they’d be taxed at 110% on each greenback spent past the fourth threshold. Shaving $1.1MM off their CBT mark would choose up round $1.21MM in tax financial savings that season.

Paying down the deal makes it an inexpensive proposition for the Orioles. A $5MM dedication unfold over two years is minimal for a veteran catcher. Gamers like Mike Zunino and Austin Hedges have signed one-year offers within the $5-6MM vary just lately as free brokers. These gamers will tackle a bigger position of their new locations than McCann will with the Orioles, however he’d have slot in that group have been he out there on the open market. The O’s are nowhere close to the luxurious tax threshold, so the cash New York saves in that regard is of little consequence to the O’s.

There’s no query it’s Rutschman’s job, however McCann presents a revered and skilled voice behind him on the depth chart. After a number of seasons of subpar pitch framing numbers, he has rated as a barely above-average framer in two of the previous three years. McCann doesn’t have an amazing arm, however he’ll convey competent receiving when known as upon in Rutschman’s stead. A situational position might enable supervisor Brandon Hyde to work him in towards left-handed pitching, towards which he has a profession .258/.325/.458 mark. They’ll presumably look to defend him from righties, who’ve restricted him to a meager .237/.284/.351 line.

It’s a minimal monetary hit for Baltimore, and the acquisition price will likely be minor. It’s unlikely the participant to be named later will likely be a prospect of a lot renown, with the Mets not negotiating from a place of energy. For probably the most half, the swap is concerning the Mets clearing the roster spot and a few cash. Baltimore will plug the #2 catcher spot they’d been in search of to deal with.

Doing so means they danger shedding Nevin, who was bumped from the 40-man roster. The son of Angels skipper Phil Nevin, Tyler briefly debuted within the majors in 2021, however the bulk of his MLB expertise got here this previous season. He hit simply .197/.299/.261 with a pair of residence runs throughout his first 184 journeys to the plate. Nevin appeared in any respect 4 nook positions however rated poorly within the eyes of public metrics for his work at third base.

Prospect evaluators have lengthy thought-about Nevin extra of a bat-first participant, so his defensive struggles on the sizzling nook aren’t too stunning. Baltimore has stockpiled loads of higher degree expertise within the infield that had surpassed or was prone to quickly leapfrog Nevin on the depth chart. They’ll now have every week to commerce him or place him on waivers.

Whereas Nevin doesn’t have a lot MLB expertise, he’s solely 25 and has a extra respectable Triple-A observe file. The righty is a .246/.328/.417 hitter by way of 644 plate appearances on the prime minor league degree. Nathan Ruiz of the Baltimore Solar tweets the O’s have been granted a fourth minor league possibility yr, which means  any staff that acquired Nevin might bounce him between the majors and Triple-A for an additional season.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Orioles have been buying McCann. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported the Mets have been receiving a participant to be named later and that the O’s have been masking $5MM in wage.

Picture courtesy of USA Immediately Sports activities.