3 worst Mets free agent signings since Steve Cohen took over as owner

1) Worst NY Mets free agent signing since Steve Cohen took over: James McCann

There’s no debating this one. Keep your pitch-framing to yourself. Tomas Nido can do that at a fraction of the cost.

In the 2020-2021 offseason, the Mets had a catcher decision to make. Do they overpay for J.T. Realmuto or go with the second option, James McCann? They chose the latter. There should be some regrets.

McCann slashed .232/.294/.349 in 2021 and followed it up with a .195/.257/.282 performance in 2022. His playing time was cut down to only 61 games this past year due to injury but also Nido hitting just as well as him.

In two years with the Mets, McCann has knocked only 13 home runs and driven in 64. The numbers are even below what he was doing with the Detroit Tigers earlier in his career. McCann is a payroll burden. More painful, he’s too automatic of an out.

McCann has $24.3 million left on his contract over the next two seasons. The Mets could look to dump him this offseason. It might be easier just to cut him loose entirely, although we shouldn’t expect the Mets to do this.

The chance the Mets took on McCann hasn’t worked out. His awesome output with the Chicago White Sox over a season and a half is nothing close to what he has been able to give the Amazins. But his pitch-framing, right?