James McCann reportedly in free-agent talks with Mets originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
It sounds like James McCann is about to get paid.
According to multiple reports, the New York Mets — active this offseason after the arrival of new billionaire owner Steve Cohen — are talking with McCann about a free-agent deal that could last four years.
That's a hefty contract for the former White Sox backstop and a little bit of a surprising move by the Mets, who many expected would pursue free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto this winter. Instead, they seem primed to fill their catching vacancy with McCann, who turned his career around in two seasons on the South Side, making the American League All-Star team in 2019 and putting up even better offensive numbers, while earning recognition as a Gold Glove finalist, during the shortened 2020 campaign.
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The White Sox would have been thrilled to find a way to retain McCann and keep what they called a "luxury" of a catching corps, with both Yasmani Grandal and McCann boasting All-Star credentials. But McCann's return to the South Side has long seemed a bit of a longshot considering that he's earned the opportunity to top a major league depth chart, something he wouldn't be able to do with the White Sox after the team inked Grandal to the richest free-agent deal in club history an offseason ago.
If McCann indeed ends up the new No. 1 in Queens, the White Sox will be guaranteed to have a new backup to Grandal in 2021.
The most likely internal candidate to assume that role is Zack Collins, the team's first-round draft pick in 2016. With veterans blocking him in recent seasons, Collins has seen little major league action, getting just 120 plate appearances in 2019 and 2020. He's long been touted for swinging a solid bat, even if defensive questions have never gone away. Collins reached base at an astounding .403 clip while launching 19 home runs in just 88 games at Triple-A Charlotte in 2019.
Another power bat, Yermin Mercedes, could be an internal option to factor into the catching mix come spring. Or, with championship expectations in 2021, the White Sox could opt to seek dependability and a proven veteran to backup Grandal this offseason.
Either way, McCann seems to be on the verge of turning getting non-tendered by the Detroit Tigers two offseasons ago into a big free-agent deal. Not a bad two years on the South Side.
