Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports
Last weekend, the Mets signed James McCann to be their starting catcher. On its face, the signing is a curious one, considering J.T. Realmuto is a top-two catcher in baseball and is also a free agent. But there’s plenty of evidence that points to McCann’s breakout over the last two years being legitimate.
Dave Capobianco took an in-depth look at McCann’s improvements in a piece here at Amazin’ Avenue earlier this week, and shortly before the signing, Jarrett Seidler illustrated the recent similarities between McCann and Realmuto. The Mets are being a bit risky here, taking a bet that the McCann breakout is real and getting what would be an elite catcher for a cut price. Regardless of that, however, the Mets have an underrated need: backup catcher.