5 toughest decisions the Mets have to make this offseason

4) NY Mets toughest decisions they will need to make in the next 6 months: What should the Mets do with James McCann?

The Mets signed James McCann prior to the 2021 season to hold down the fort as their catcher. He was seen as a guy who'd be a massive upgrade over Wilson Ramos defensively while still providing at least league-average offense.

This signing has been a disaster for the Mets. McCann has been a solid defensive catcher but puts up at-bats that aren't even competitive at the plate. He's slashed .185/.237/.266 with two home runs and 13 RBI this season. He did miss substantial time with injury, but when he's played he's been putting up pathetic at-bats.

Last season when he was healthy he had a 76 OPS+. That is 24 points below league average. This season he has a 44 OPS+. I don't know how he hit well in 2019 and 2020 in Chicago but with McCann struggling this much I have no idea what they should do with him.

Their top prospect and the number one overall prospect according to mlb.com in Francisco Alvarez is a catcher and projects to be a superstar with the bat at the very least. People argue he's ready right now, the consensus is he will most definitely be ready next season to take over the catcher spot.

The guy McCann has been splitting time with this season, Tomas Nido, I'd argue is even better than McCann despite being a poor hitter as well. His defense is elite, the pitchers seem to prefer throwing to him, and his offensive numbers have been better than McCann's this season.

Nido is cheaper and just the more qualified backup at this point. The issue with this is no team will take on McCann's money unless they attach a prospect or something of value with him.

I'd expect them to either keep McCann as the backup and trade Nido or just cut McCann outright. Both decisions will be tough with the money he is making.