While fans might be preoccupied with whether the Orioles should make large offers to their top free agents — starting pitcher Corbin Burnes and slugging outfielder Anthony Santander — there’s another player set to file for free agency they can’t afford to lose.
James McCann is more than just a backup catcher. He’s a critical part of the team’s clubhouse and an often overlooked component of manager Brandon Hyde’s lineup construction.
In 2024, Adley Rutschman caught 99 games and McCann started 63 with Rutschman serving as the designated hitter in 45 games. Rutschman often started as the designated hitter against left-handed pitching and hit .298 with an .854 OPS. When he caught, he hit .231 with a .650 OPS.
McCann came to the Orioles in December 2022 from the New York Mets and, at 34, his offensive numbers weren’t far off from his career averages. He hit .234 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs and a .667 OPS. In his 11 major league seasons, McCann has hit .241 with a .673 OPS.
The Mets were looking to shed payroll and New York paid $9.5 million of his $12,150,000 annual salary in 2023 and 2024.
McCann probably won’t come close to that money in free agency, but he’ll be in demand.
Several Oriole starters had better ERAs with McCann catching them.
Burnes had a 2.65 ERA in the 15 regular-season starts caught by McCann with a 3.16 ERA in the 17 starts with Rutschman behind the plate. McCann also caught Burnes’ excellent start in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.
Albert Suárez had a 2.96 ERA in the 14 games McCann started and a 4.52 ERA in 18 games Rutschman caught.
In the five games McCann caught Kyle Bradish, he had a 2.10 ERA and a 3.95 with Rutschman.
To be fair, Cade Povich and Grayson Rodriguez had opposite results. Povich had a 6.45 in four starts with McCann and a 4.55 in 12 Rutschman starts. Rodriguez had 6.35 ERA in three starts with McCann and a 3.43 in 17 Rutschman starts.
Dean Kremer’s ERA was slightly better, 4.06, when McCann caught than the 4.12 ERA for the games Rutschman caught and Zach Eflin did well with both — McCann, 2.74 in seven starts, and Rutschman, 2.13 in two starts.
Eflin was pitching in his first game with the Orioles when McCann was hit in the face with a pitch that broke his nose. He earned even more respect from his teammates and fans when he stayed in the game, and he showed even more toughness when he didn’t go on the injured list.
“I take a lot of pride in being tough and do everything I can to stay on the field,” McCann said. “And that’s what I was able to do today.”
Eflin spoke glowingly about his catcher.
“Before we even talk about the outing, what a leader James McCann is,” Eflin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that on a baseball field. I just probably became his No 1 fan.”
While the rest of the Orioles enjoyed an offday in Toronto a week later, McCann flew back to Baltimore to have his nose repaired. By then T-shirts boasting of McCann’s courage became popular, and later in the season, he was the Orioles’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable work in the community.
He’s also an excellent postgame interview, who’s able to break down games cogently.
All those attributes are important, and because of the way Hyde used Rutschman and McCann together, it would make finding a replacement for him difficult.
According to MLBTradeRumors.com, there are two dozen other catchers who are free agents, but finding a fit might be hard. Some may want more playing time than the Orioles have available with Rutschman.
Others, such as Cleveland’s Austin Hedges, who’s been lauded by new Guardians manager Stephen Vogt for his leadership skills, don’t have the offensive numbers McCann does. Hedges, a .186 lifetime hitter in 10 years, hit just .152 in 66 games for Cleveland.
The Orioles can’t afford to have a poor hitting backup catcher, and even though they have an outstanding catching prospect, 20-year-old Samuel Basallo. on the way, he has started just 10 games at Triple-A Norfolk and wouldn’t be ready for the start of next season.
Basallo, a left-handed hitter, also plays first base, and maybe it’s not a crazy idea that Basallo, McCann and Rutschman can all coexist for a time late in the 2025 season.
The Orioles have a relatively short time to close a deal with McCann before free agency arrives, five days after the final game of the World Series, and they would be wise to move quickly to get a deal done.
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