- Editor's Note: "Does acquiring James McCann make sense for the White Sox?" originally appeared on Sox on 35th. Nik Gaur of Sox On 35th will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports Chicago's White Sox coverage for the 2022 season. You can read more of their coverage at SoxOn35th.com, and follow them on Twitter at @SoxOn35th.
The White Sox and Mets have been popular mock trade partners on social media in recent days due to the two teams' offseason moves and respective needs. The speculation is largely due to the Mets signing catcher Omar Narvaez, considering they already have top catching prospect Francisco Alvarez as well as returning catchers Tomas Nido and James McCann.
New York, therefore, is likely to move one or both of Nido and McCann before the start of the 2023 season. The White Sox, on the other hand, have been tied to several catchers in offseason rumors due to the uncertainty surrounding Yasmani Grandal's knees and the lack of an established backup catcher behind him.
Meanwhile, the Mets may be interested in bullpen help, prospects, or simply getting rid of bad contracts. While payroll is hardly a problem for the club, it still may behoove them to move on from McCann. Alvarez and Narvaez figure to receive the bulk of catching opportunities in 2023, and Nido is a very solid defensive catcher who is still under two years of team control.
Since Nido is an organization's typical ideal "third catcher," the Mets may look to trade McCann or even designate him for assignment, as he is still owed over $24 million over the next two seasons. Given his successful run in Chicago and the team's need for catching depth, the White Sox might be interested.
What would a James McCann trade look like?
Considering that McCann has hit .220/.282/.328 (.610 OPS, 73 wRC+) across his 603 plate appearances with the Mets, he has not been very successful in New York. Moreover, when factoring in his contract and that Nido has been an arguably superior defender and inarguably similar hitter, McCann has little value to the Mets and on the trade market.
However, because the White Sox have enjoyed McCann's better years, the team could potentially benefit from having him back as another catching option. It would be naive to expect his offense to rebound to its 2019-2020 levels, but McCann developed great chemistry with Lucas Giolito, for example, and would mesh well with Pedro Grifol's staff in terms of game planning and attention to detail.
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