$40.6 million NY Mets free agent bust signs a new deal with NL East rival

Even if the first MLB games of the season begin tomorrow between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, free agency isn’t nearly over with. Several notable players have yet to sign contracts, including last year’s primary New York Mets DH, J.D. Martinez.

Late spring signings have become more common in recent years. It’s especially true with veterans past their prime settling on minor league deals. That’s the category James McCann fits into. A bust in New York to the point where the team had to dump him to the Baltimore Orioles only to replace him with an even worse player albeit less expensive one in Omar Narvaez, McCann just had to end up with the Atlanta Braves, didn’t he?

Former Mets catcher James McCann will have an opportunity to help the Braves catcher situation

Like the Mets, the Braves are dealing with an injury to their catcher. Sean Murphy will miss time with a cracked rib. They no longer had Travis d’Arnaud to easily turn to. Their depth chart has Drake Baldwin and longtime third-stinger Chadwick Tromp as the projected candidates to handle the duties behind the plate until Murphy’s return.

McCann is no sure thing to make the Braves roster, especially with the late start at familiarizing himself with the pitching and coaching staffs. He spent the last two seasons in Baltimore batting .228/.274/.382 with 14 home runs. The numbers barely outpaced what he did with the Mets where in two seasons he batted .220/.282/.328 with 13 home runs.

The McCann signing was an example of buying high on a guy coming off of back-to-back career best seasons on offense. He was a terrific hitter with power in his two seasons with the Chicago White Sox. Every other stop includes an overall OPS below .700. Only once with the Detroit Tigers was he able to get into the .700s.

McCann’s contract was worth $40.6 million but the Mets were able to escape a small portion over the last two seasons. Although $9.5 million was paid to him by the Mets in 2023 and 2024 while he represented the Orioles, the slight savings had an impact on the team as they paid into the “Cohen tax.” Even at a savings of less than $3 million per year benefitted them financially and strategically. It’s just unfortunate they had to end up with Narvaez to kind of negate it all.

A whole bunch of former Mets have ended up at Braves spring training vying for a roster spot. Jake Diekman and his 4.91 ERA won’t help him make the team nor will Dylan Covey’s at 4.05. Jake Marisnick is 4 for 27 in his attempt to make it back to the big leagues.

A daunting chill is always present whenever an ex-player ends up with a rival. In McCann’s case, there seems to be very little concern of him doing much damage at all against the Mets. He didn’t leave and suddenly start hitting again. He’s in the journeyman backup catcher status of his career right now and very likely just a guy they’d like a closer look at.