Robert Murray
@ByRobertMurray
Mets in active talks with free-agent catcher James McCann, according to league sources. A deal is not yet close, but it is looking increasingly likely he will land a four-year deal.
1:27 PM · Dec 3, 2020·Twitter for iPhone
Does this open the door for BOTH Springer and Bauer? 4 seems too many... thoughts Metsies?
Thinking maybe a trade for a starter. I just don't see them getting both.
If they can close the McCann deal, that's huge.
I absolutely love Alvarez but I wouldn't count on him in 2023. The list of 21 year old major league catchers is absurdly small and thee very few that do (Pudge etc) are generational defensive players. Maybe late 2023 if they are lucky. He's played 42 professional games and just turned 19
2. Allan
3. Mauricio
4. Crow-Armstrong
5. Baty
6. Ginn
7. Wolf
8. Vientos
9. Greene
I stopped at 9 because to me, that's the clear cream of the crop.
(1) Treat any MLB player as better than a prospect
(2) Don’t sign top IFA’s
(3) Tank your draft for one or two players. I can get behind that for someone like Matthew Allan, but I question if the extra $1.5M for Ginn vs. someone like Clayton Beeter was worth it. That money could have gotten over slot guys in Rounds 3 & 4
(1) Treat any MLB player as better than a prospect
(2) Don’t sign top IFA’s
(3) Tank your draft for one or two players. I can get behind that for someone like Matthew Allan, but I question if the extra $1.5M for Ginn vs. someone like Clayton Beeter was worth it. That money could have gotten over slot guys in Rounds 3 & 4
Yeah Allan seemingly has #2 upside, whereas Ginn is probably close to a 3-4. Top IFA's is valid (though their approach) has somewhat worked... this year they seemingly punted, which is bizarre... and yeah Brodie fucked us. No way around that.
11th in fWAR over the last 5 seasons, He made 30+ starts 2015, 2016, 2017, 27 in 2018, 34 in 2019 and 11 (30 start pace again this year). 2.5+ fWAR or more the last 5 seasons including 5.8 in 2018 and his Cy season this year.
DeGrom/Bauer/Stroman/Tanaka/Peterson or Matz... BONER
I really like that his track record prior to his offensive outbreak the last 2 years was as a + glove, defense first guy. We need a guy at that position who thinks the game defense first and has for a long time.
Obviously also depends on the $, but I'd imagine he is going to be a fraction of the Realmuto cost, though perhaps also more than the 2/20m predictions. 4x40m or even a little more doesn't seem too crazy and it's probably 1/3 what Realmuto is likely to get.
I don't know if I'm a homer or I just didn't appreciate McCann before, but this seems like a pretty savy move at that $. McCann isn't the athlete Realmuto is but he may be his equal at receiving. And the power seems like it could be legit.
@Mets have never had... sustained success
Position: C
DOB: 06/13/1990
Height/Weight: 6’2” 210 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Drafted/Acquired: 2nd round, 2011 draft, University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR)
Previous Ranking: NR
2013 Stats: .277/.328/.404 at Double-A Erie (119 games)
The Tools: 6 arm; 5+ glove; 5 potential hit
What Happened in 2013: After a disappointing run in his first pass in Double-A, McCann rebounded in 2013, showing good gap pop to go along with his solid defensive skills behind the plate.
Strengths: Athletic and strong; good receiver; frames well; good game caller; arm is solid-average; quick release and accurate; necessary intangibles for position; bat could get to average; shows gap power.
Weaknesses: Glove-first profile; weak contact against arm-side pitching; hit most likely to play below average; power will play below average; athletic but below-average run.
Overall Future Potential: 5; major-league regular
Realistic Role: High 4; backup catcher/below-average regular
Risk Factor/Injury History: Moderate risk; solid in Double-A debut; bat needs grade improvement.
Bret Sayre’s Fantasy Take: Unless you’re in a deep league or one that plays two catchers, McCann is not a name worth worrying about at this point. His real-life value is much higher than his fantasy value. He profiles similarly with the bat to former Tigers’ farmhand Rob Brantly.
The Year Ahead: Dual-threat catchers don’t grow on trees, and given his progress with the stick in 2013, it’s not a stretch to see McCann developing his way into that category. It’s always going to be a glove-first profile—with solid-avg attributes that play up in combination—but the bat has a chance to play up to average and show respectable gap pop, so its not an empty out. If that’s a .260 hitter with some extra-base potential coming from a 5+ glove at a premium spot, that’s a valuable player.
Major league ETA: Late 2014
Parks - Detroit Tigers Top 10 Prospects - ( New Window )
2014 Top 10 Prospects: Detroit Tigers - ( New Window )
". He also wondered if McCann had ever learned the technique he needs to succeed, and was willing to introduce him. After hearing recommendations from peers about Narron and McCann’s representation at Ballengee Group could set up a meeting, McCann pushed for the opportunity."
So I'm happy it looks like he's improved but a catching guru like Narron says that, it means his defense was beyond bad when he got to him.. before this past season
6 year old scouting reports don't matter but they start to paint a picture.
What would stand out in Nimmo's 6 year old scouting report? That he has a great eye for walking and fringy plus tools. Conforto would be a well rounded and polished hitter (with negative defense he fixed). Alonso would be plus plus raw power if he can make enough contact. If we read Dom Smith's report the offensive projection is pretty close though the gold glove hasn't materialized yet.
The results don't always translate but the profile of the type of player usually does. It's rare to find defense or offense first players who completely invert their profile.
At any other position than catcher yes but that's always been a difficult position for young players to learn the nuances of receiving and calling games (and all the prep work).
It's not like CF or SS where you can either go get it or not.
Quote:
said he completely reworked his stance before 2019 and before 2020 worked with Jerry Narron because his 2019 was THE WORST in baseball in pitch framing. Props for a potential late breakout but it makes the scouting reports on this plus defense in 2014 report sound silly.
At any other position than catcher yes but that's always been a difficult position for young players to learn the nuances of receiving and calling games (and all the prep work).
It's not like CF or SS where you can either go get it or not.
But you can't both be a "plus" defender in the minors...-45 runs for your career up to 2020 and then have a catching expert say what he said. Clearly that doesn't add up.
His 2016 was good (+8 DRS, neutral framing, good CERA, threw out almost 50% of basestealers too), then he had some mixed bag years in '17/'18. The worst area of his defense those 2 years was his CERA which he completely turned around in 19/20. That's the metric SIS says evaluates "handling a pitching staff".
I'm still very in between on how reliable defensive metrics are in general but just pointing out it wasn't all bad pre-adjustments. Or else he probably wouldn't have been playing 100 games a year because he certainly wasn't hitting much back then.
64 catchers
64 McCann, James 2992 -15
Hey I'm on board with the move because I think more is coming, but you can't be -15 runs, the WORST in baseball, seek out a catching guru, have the guy say it doesn't seem like he was taught proper technique and the report be on the money because he had a good season.
I remember his reports including that he tore his knee up and his speed hadn't fully returned.
59/62
30/64
64/64
2017, 2018, 2019
2020
9/62
Eric lol c'mon you left out the 2 other seasons
His ranking/qualified catchers
2016 - 59/63
2017 - 21/62
2018 - 16/60
2019 - 6/64
2020 - 2/62
Much clearer trend line but that's why he's gonna get 3x the $.
2020 had 62 qualified catchers, the worst framing being Will Smith of the Dodgers, Ramos finished 41st
Quote:
he had some struggles before he figured out framing.
Eric lol c'mon you left out the 2 other seasons
My point isn't that he has always been good defensively prior to the last 2 years, he has clearly had some poor years, just that there were some signs along the way that he had skills if he could put things together. Hopefully that's what happened in the last couple years.
Gimenez was the fastest met 24th in baseball 28.9 ft/sec
Pujols the slowest in baseball
Realmuto's defensive attributes are why I started trending all in on him.
Best pop time.
Best arm.
Turned himself into a top pitch framer.
There's no hole in his defensive game and he's almost 1 year younger than McCann, which is why the 4 years thing caught me off guard with McCann. 4 years with him is the same as 5 years with JTR factoring in age. And how good he is at all those things means he's got room for regression and can still be effective.
But obviously there's also a cost difference. I'm still not sure I'd have chosen McCann/Springer over Realmuto, I'm just happy that McCann does appear to have some of the most crucial defensive attributes I was hoping to get with the next catcher. Handling the staff is more important to me than pop time so thankfully that's the area where McCann seems to have done best.