BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles acquired catcher James McCann and $19 million from the New York Mets on Wednesday night for a player to be named.
McCann was an All-Star in 2019 for the Chicago White Sox, but hit just .195 with three home runs and 18 RBIs for the Mets last season. He joins a Baltimore team that already has perhaps the top young catcher in the game in Adley Rutschman, but the 32-year-old McCann could be a capable backup and fill the type of role veteran Robinson Chirinos did last season.
McCann is due $12 million in each of the next two seasons as part of the $40.6 million, four-year contract he signed with New York in December 2020. As part of the trade, the Mets agreed to pay the Orioles $11 million in 2023 and $8 million in 2024.
He became expendable when the Mets agreed recently to a $15 million, two-year deal with free-agent catcher Omar Narváez that is pending a physical.
New York also has defensive standout Tomás Nido and touted prospect Francisco Álvarez behind the plate, and like McCann they both bat right-handed. Narváez provides a left-handed stick.
McCann struggled at the plate with the Mets, hitting .220 with 13 home runs, 64 RBIs and a .610 OPS in 182 games over two seasons with the team. By the time New York entered the playoffs last season, he had lost his starting job to Nido.
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