James McCann headed to New York Mets on four-year deal

James McCann

A previous post this week talked a lot about White Sox general manager Rick Hahn's horrible free agent signings, so let's bring up one of his better ones: James McCann.

After two productive seasons in Chicago, McCann is heading to the New York Mets on a four-year, $40 million contract.

This is a really good turn of events for McCann, who was non-tendered by the 98-loss Detroit Tigers after the 2018 season. The Sox picked him up on a one-year, $2.5 million scrap-heap deal, and McCann responded by making the All-Star team in 2019.

In his first season with the Sox, McCann batted .273/.328/.460 with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs in 118 games. McCann didn't have the greatest framing statistics in the world as the Sox's primary catcher, but the offensive production was good.

Still, the Sox were understandably unconvinced that McCann was the long-term answer behind the plate. What if 2019 was just a career year for McCann? So, Hahn jumped at the opportunity to sign Yasmani Grandal to a four-year, $73 million contract last November.

McCann was brought back on another one-year deal, and he and Grandal formed an effective one-two punch behind the plate for the Sox in 2020.

Even with limited playing time, McCann produced. He batted .289/.360/.536 with seven home runs and 15 RBIs in 31 games. He did not complain about his diminished role and often was praised for his leadership. And he became the personal catcher for Sox ace Lucas Giolito, who provided a 2020 season highlight by throwing a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 25.

But with Grandal in the fold for the long haul, the writing was on the wall for McCann. He sees himself as a starting catcher, and he's proven over the past two years with the Sox that he deserves a shot to be the No. 1 guy. He was not going to get that in Chicago.

He'll get that opportunity in New York. As Sox fans, we wish we could have the Grandal-McCann tandem behind the plate for another few years, but realistically, that was never going to be cost-effective.

You're not going to pay McCann $10 million a year to catch twice a week, and you can't blame the Sox for not being interested in matching an offer like that. You simply thank McCann for a job well done and wish him well with the Mets.

In the meantime, the Sox need a second catcher. The internal options are suspect: Zack Collins, Yermin Mercedes and Seby Zavala. We talked about these guys before: Collins and Mercedes have hit at the Triple-A level, but both are subpar defensively. Zavala is a good receiver, and a good catch-and-throw guy, but it's unlikely he'll ever hit well enough to stick in the major leagues.

So, do the Sox go outside the organization? If the answer is yes, here are your options in free agency: Jason Castro, Robinson Chirinos, Tyler Flowers, Sandy Leon, Yadier Molina, Kurt Suzuki and Mike Zunino.

Do we like anybody on that list?