A few weeks into last offseason, the White Sox parted with their 2017-18 primary catcher, Omar Narvaez, sending him to the Mariners for reliever Alex Colome on Nov. 30. The White Sox found Narvaez’s replacement a couple weeks later when they signed former Tigers starting backstop James McCann to a one-year, $2.5MM deal. In other words, a franchise mired in a 10-year playoff drought paid a minimal cost for an unexciting (maybe even bad) major leaguer. You’re forgiven if you couldn’t have cared less at the time.
Five-plus months later, Chicago’s decision to buy low on McCann looks like one of one of the shrewdest of the winter. The 28-year-old has been an absolute hitting machine as a member of the White Sox, with whom he has slashed .346/.384/.523 (145 wRC+) in 138 plate appearances. Based on wRC+, McCann has been in the same league as franchise catchers Gary Sanchez (154) and Willson Contreras (152) in overall offensive production. It’s a stunning rise for McCann, whom the Tigers non-tendered in November in lieu of paying a projected $3.5MM in arbitration.
McCann can now take solace in the fact that he has been a revelation with division-rival Chicago this year while Detroit’s catchers have been dreadful. That said, the Tigers weren’t crazy for letting him go. McCann was a useful regular for the Tigers once – in 2017 – but still didn’t manage world-beating offensive production that year. His Tigers tenure, which spanned from 2014-18, concluded with a .240/.288/.366 line (76 wRC+) and minus-0.2 fWAR in 1,646 trips to the plate. That’s bad. Defensively, McCann did throw out between 30 and 45 percent of base runners in each of his seasons in the Motor City. That’s good. But he floundered as a pitch framer and blocker. That’s bad.
What we know is that McCann has thrived as a White Sox after he did no such thing as a Tiger. The question is whether he’s born anew in a different uniform, if it’s just a two-month blip or something in between. First of all, he’s not going to sustain this kind of offensive production. He didn’t really walk in Detroit and hasn’t in Chicago either, having recorded rates in the 5 percent range with both teams. McCann’s also not going to keep up a .435 batting average on balls in play, especially considering his lifetime mark is .309. Plus, as someone who currently has four home runs and has never topped 13 in a full season, he won’t make up for his inevitable drop in average with a significant power surge.
While the above paragraph paints a bleak picture, all hope isn’t lost for McCann, who has cut his strikeout and chase rates by roughly 3 percent and elevated his contact rate by about 2 percent. He has also made more meaningful contact, evidenced in part by a noticeable rise in isolated power. McCann put up an unimposing .126 ISO with the Tigers, including a woeful .094 last year, though he’s running a career-high .183 in the category this season. FanGraphs indicates McCann has slashed his soft contact rate by almost 6 percent, while Statcast shows his average exit velocity has hopped from 87.5 mph to 90.5. Statcast also credits McCann with a .347 expected weighted on-base average. That’s a hefty 48 points below his real wOBA (.395), but it’s still 24 points above average and more than respectable for a catcher.
The right-handed McCann has done a lot of his 2019 damage against same-sided pitchers, which is noteworthy in his case because they’ve typically stymied him. When Chicago added McCann, it couldn’t have expected him to suddenly prove capable of handling righties. He has so far, though, and his offensive strides have come with improved defense. Not only has McCann continued to stop would-be base thieves at a high rate (35 percent), but he has been a scratch overall defensive player after grading out as one of the league’s worst catchers in 2018, according to Baseball Prospectus. If that’s not enough, McCann has developed a solid rapport with potential ace Lucas Giolito.
Adding everything up, it’s clear the McCann signing has worked out brilliantly for the White Sox. He has already given Chicago 1.6 fWAR, double his previous career high, and could remain in the team’s plans beyond this season. Once the 2019 campaign finishes, the Sox will have to decide whether to tender McCann a contract for his final year of arbitration eligibility. It would be a no-brainer decision right now. However, in the seemingly improbable event McCann’s overall production careens off a cliff, the club will be able to move on without any damage.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
But he comes with a free frogurt. That’s good
But the frogurt has an unsustainable BABIP. That’s bad.
But the White Sox get its choice of toppings. That’s good.
It looks like he’s in a Snow Globe
Yet Lloyd McClendon still has a job in Detroit.
James McCann’s performance has nothing to do with Lloyd McClendon. McCann has been a full time catcher since 2015 but in 2018, not only did his offense flounder, he couldn’t catch either. McClendon may not be a very good coach, but, after 4 years, its on the player.
McClendon has been a favorite whipping boy for Tiger fans even when the Tigers were offensive juggernauts during their good years. They would be at or near the top in most offensive categories and fans would still blame Lloyd for any perceived offensive failure.
So Lloyd made Cabrera a good hitter? Lol, ok. The Tigers success through those years, between Lloyd’s failed managerial attempts, was built with established players through FA signings and trades, not young talent that was the result of player development and coaching up through the minors. In all the Tigers minors teams, players with close to 100 AB’s hitting .300 AAA=2 AA=0 High A=1 Low A=3. So it’s not about making anybody a whipping boy, it’s about the fact that we have poor offensive production throughout the entire organization. Just facts
And btw, happy to see McCann and Iggy doing so well. Just wish the Tigers could have helped them achieve that and kept them around
Then Garry, explain how hitters like him and Iggy are producing much better years when they leave the Tigers?
Its 100% coaching for McCann. He would have turned it on in Detroit if he could in his contract year.
For what it’s worth, most White Sox fans have considered hitting coach Todd Steverson their favorite whipping boy after former manager Robin Ventura departed from the South Side. It’s not all on the coaching staff…
it looked like a good signing at the time I’d say. Mccann showed offensive upside in the past, and id hardly call him “bad.”
Good for McCann. He has helped the team at a position where they needed help. The Sox are moving up and McCann is one reason why. At age 28 he is entering his prime, and so let’s beat those Indians again.
The Tigers let him go and had NOBODY to replace him with….not sure what kind of plan that was… I would’ve certainly kept him. They have many other players I would have given up on before him.
They also let Iggy go with no one to replace him. How did that work out?
They had a player, he just hasn’t performed offensively. Greiner. Plus one of their top prospects is a Catcher. Hicks also performed better than McCann last year.
I never considered Greiner as a replacement , thus my whole point.
Couldn’t find a better picture?
I was disappointed when the Tigers non-tendered McCann. But I understood why. Hard to let a guy go to arbitration and get a raise when the only thing he could do was throw out would be base stealers. His offense was poor, occasionally flashing some power, but showing poor plate discipline. Tigers had Greiner who was pretty much McCann’s equal behind the plate but showed more promise with pitch framing and game calling. And John Hicks was not nearly as good defensively but was a much better hitter.
But what has McCann done to improve those numbers? If he has done nothing, then I would expect a significant regression is coming. If it is just better plate discipline, then he will regress, but maybe not a big regression. A swing change along with better discipline, well maybe these numbers are not sustainable, but they also could mean that this is a break out season for him.. If it is, good for him.
The other question though is has he done anything to improve those horrible pitch framing statistics?
I just don’t understand how the figured that there was a “better” option available when they non-tendered him. 3M was not gonna break the bank. Same goes for Jose Iglesias…they had no other real options in mind that I can see. Avila appears to be completely inept in trying to rebuild this team.
Tigers have no desire to compete in 2019… selling minor league prospect promise throughout their media coverage. Need 2-3 more impact draft picks and the incremental 4 wins these guys maybe deliver for combined $5m wasn’t worth it (and I’m a diehard Tigers fan). I only question the Mercer / Harrison signings as neither were likely to be big trade deadline flip candidates.
Losing 100 games this year is a short-term no-fun thing not 2022+ Tigers are happy about it.
White Sox need to consider selling high on him. This is too reminiscent of Avi Garcia and his fluke season.
Only reason to keep him is his relationship with Giolito.
Even if his offense drops, he still has plenty of value for this team, unlike Avi. Unless they can get a great prospect back (not likely), selling McCann with no legitimate replacements doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Outside of Collins the CWS have no potential catching prospects under 25 years old. There is no reason not to at least platoon McCann withe Collins going into 2020. Sometimes a change of scenery takes the pressure off a player. He currently is top 10 defensively and was top 15 in 2018. If he can stay in that range and hit .260 and continue to develop the young staff-then 2020 for under $5MM is a steal.
He’s going to be here for at least 1 more year. His impact on the pitching staff has been so much deeper than any defensive stat could possibly show. Absolute professional.
Letting Collins learn how to be a professional catcher while splitting time with McCann is an absolute no brainer, even if/when his offensive numbers inevitably take a tumble.
Love the simpsons reference lol
Soon enough (hopefully July if not sooner) McCann can build rapport with potential hidden gem Kyle Kubat…. and Cease to replace Banuelos/Covey.
Barring any health issues or refusal to sign a team friendly long term deal to avoid MLB service time issues (lol) Dylan Cease is a no-brainer to be in the White Sox rotation come July or August. Kyle Kubat does look like a “hidden gem” and should get an invite to MLB camp next February but probably won’t be considered for his South Side debut until some time in 2020.
Lefty Kubat is already 26 and without the label of “prospect”, so thinking he may have a shot at promotion if Detwiler and the other recent scrap heap guy don’t pan out as carousel replacements. Banuelos 3ER over 6ip with some lucky hard hit outs unfortunately bought him a start to get lit up again.
The issue with Kubat is not age or prospect status. It’s the fact that he was recently converted from a reliever to full time starter and was just promoted to AA Birmingham in that role after spending most of his first 4 professional seasons in Rookie or A ball. He not only needs to stretch out his arm but gradually work up his annual inning count at both AA and AAA before having a realistic shot at the White Sox rotation.
I am a Tiger fan and I am very happy for James. He was a great Tiger and I was sad to see him go. What isn’t reported here is that McCann reported to spring training in 2018 out of shape. His wife had a difficult pregnancy and gave birth to twins shortly before spring training began. He admitted to bulking up and not being able to get into proper shape, and this really hurt his mobility. He was pretty awful defensively and the offensive numbers speak for themselves. I was disappointed that the Tigers didn’t give him a chance to report in proper shape and see what he could do, but his performance last year was hard to watch. Some fans last year were clamoring for Hicks to get more playing time, but most knowledgeable fans knew what McCann was dealing with off the field.
Ah, the game within the game! Thanks dmazcomp!
Twin boys were born 9-10 weeks prematurely, then spent their first 7 weeks in neonatal ICU. This all just before spring training of 2018. It’s tough to gauge the toll this took on the player (and the wife, and the newborns), but it’s easy to root for all of them.
Not a Tigers fan and thus would have never known this. Fans think these guys are just robots, but they are effected by the same emotions and life’s problems as the rest of us. Thank you for the info and I will now enjoy cheering for Mr McCann.
Been a fan of his since he came through the Tiger’s system. He always played the game hard and never slacked off. I remember when he got into with Iggy for not running out a ball, or something to that affect. Super happy he’s having success in Chicago this year. Hope for nothing but the best for him.
Maybe at the end of the year the Tiger need to re-evaluate their GM Al Avila. The rebuild looks like they are still four years out, the trades he has made have been disappointing to say the least, free agent signing have not gone so well over his tenure. Plus the lack of positional player is killing this Franchise.
During Houston’s rebuild, they released J.D. Martinez and drafted and failed to sign Brady Aiken. All rebuilding teams are going to make mistakes. Mike Fiers and Leonys Martin were solid signings. Goodrum, Ronny Rodriguez, and Brandon Dixon have been low key acquisitions that have paid some dividends. Victor Reyes and Dustin Peterson May yet contribute. All of the signings this year have been lost to injury. It was undoubtedly a bad off season for Avila, but he has very little to work with and his trade chips, aside from Verlander, have left him with very little leverage in trade negotiations. He has, on the most part, targeted position players as the return in his major trades. Hard to be happy, but most experts predicted a very long rebuild for the Tigers.
Sometimes a fresh start is all you need, and maybe this is an example of that in McCann. I’m not expecting him to turn into Johnny Bench or Carlton Fisk, but with Castillo turning out to be a turd, it’s nice to have a potential breakout season from McCann to fall back on. I don’t know if McCann can even come close to sustaining this all year, but you have to ride this wave the rest of the year.
It shows that sometimes these low-risk, under-the-radar signings that initially get ridiculed on these message boards turn out well after all.