2 Mets players we should lower the bar for in 2022

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Lowering the bar for Mets catcher James McCann

Sometimes I wonder if I am the biggest James McCann hater on the planet. From the moment the Mets signed him, I was hesitant to get on board. His days with the Detroit Tigers had me curb my enthusiasm about what he could do during his days in New York.

McCann lived up to my worst predictions possible. He was a good defender but a mess at the plate. At one point, things were so rough that he was losing playing time to Tomas Nido.

The season ended with McCann hitting .232/.294/.349 in 412 trips to the plate. This hardly matched up to the .276/.334/.474 he slashed in two seasons with the Chicago White Sox. In fact, he was worse than the .240/.288/.366 he posted in parts of five seasons with the Tigers.

The 18 home run, 60 RBI guy he was in 2019 and the 7 home run guy in only 111 trips to the plate with a .289 average man he was in 2020 aren’t what he really is. McCann’s bat much more closely resembles the .246/.299/.387 hitter he has averaged throughout his career.

To accept that he will be the Mets’ catcher for at least a few more seasons means lowering the bar. If he can provide them with good defense, he’d be a fine eight-hole hitter and nothing more.