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Mets Acquire Michael Perez From Pirates

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The Mets are acquiring catcher Michael Perez from the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post (via Twitter). This is the second deal consummated between these two sides in the past two days (Yesterday, the Pirates sent designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach to New York for Colin Holderman). In this case, Perez was designated for assignment yesterday, so the acquisition cost for the Mets was negligible.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Mets have designated Travis Blankenhorn for assignment, per Tim Healey of Newsday Sports (via Twitter). Blankenhorn was called up to the active roster yesterday, so his designation clears an active roster spot for either Perez or Vogelbach.

In the short run, Perez serves as catching depth, should Tomas Nido require a stint on the injured list for his bruised hand. In that case, Perez would join with Patrick Mazeika to form the Mets’ catching tandem. In the long run, Perez can be optioned to Triple-A, so he can remain in the Mets’ organization to serve as depth once Nido and/or James McCann return.

For the Pirates, this is simply a way to pick up some extra cash for a player they might have lost anyway. They have Jason Delay and Tyler Heineman handling catching duties with Perez now out of the organization. Veteran Roberto Perez remains sidelined after hamstring surgery back in May.

Mets Place James McCann On IL With Oblique Injury

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Mets manager Buck Showalter has informed reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, that catcher James McCann will be placed on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique injury. Fellow catcher Patrick Mazeika will be recalled to take his place on the active roster. Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News relays that Showalter said McCann will be out longer than the ten-day minimum.

On the heels of two strong seasons with the White Sox in 2019 and 2020, the Mets signed McCann to a four-year, $40.6MM deal going into the 2021 season. Unfortunately for both parties, things haven’t gone according to plan since then. McCann slumped to a .232/.294/.349 line last year, producing a wRC+ of 80. This year, he was shelved by a broken hamate bone and now this oblique injury, limiting him to just 30 games on the season so far. In that time, he’s hit just .183/.250/.293 for a wRC+ of 60.

With McCann missing significant time, the that’s led to increased action for Tomás Nido and Mazeika, with both of those players struggling to make use of the opportunity. Nido is hitting .221/.264/.248 through 52 games for a wRC+ of just 52. Mazeika has gotten into 17 contests and hit just .167/.200/.292 for a wRC+ of 41.

The Mets have been one of the best teams in baseball this year, currently leading the NL East with a record of 53-32. With the August 2 trade deadline now just over three weeks away, catcher stands out as one area with room for improvement, especially if McCann is going to be out for a while. Although no specific timeline has been provided, the fact that the Mets immediately expect him to be gone longer than ten days suggests that he could be facing a lengthy absence.

MLBTR’s list of the top trade candidates featured two catchers, with Willson Contreras taking the #1 slot and Sean Murphy at #41. However, recent reporting has suggested the Mets would like to hang onto their top prospects and would prefer to make deals by taking on large contracts. Contreras is a pure rental but the Cubs will surely be looking to extract as much prospect capital as they can in order to help them return to competition in the years to come. They’re running a lower payroll than in recent years and won’t need to worry about cost savings. As for Murphy, he hasn’t even reached arbitration yet and would only be moved by the A’s if they were bowled over by the return package, then turning to prospect Shea Langeliers behind the dish.

Another wild card that could come into play is Mets’ catching prospect Francisco Alvarez. He’s one of the best prospects in the game, with Baseball America ranking him #10, FanGraphs #6 and MLB Pipeline #2. Just 2o years old, he began the season in Double-A and mashed his way through with 18 home runs and a line of .277/.368/.553 for a wRC+ of 148. He was recently promoted to Triple-A but has struggled in a tiny five-game sample, hitting .125/.286/.188. Many Mets’ fans are already calling for his promotion, with those calls surely to only grow louder if McCann stays out of action and the club can’t find a suitable replacement on the trade market.

Mets Notes: McCann, Scherzer, Holderman, deGrom

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James McCann was activated from the 10-day injured list prior to today’s 5-3 win over the Marlins, and the catcher went 1-for-4 with a single and a run scored in his first game since May 10.  McCann had to undergo surgery to fix a broken left hamate bone, costing him a little beyond the initial six-week recovery timeline.  Nevertheless, McCann is back behind the plate and looking to finally get his Queens tenure on track.  Since signing a four-year, $40.6MM free agent deal in the 2020-21 offseason, McCann has hit only .227/.290/.341 over his first 142 games and 476 plate appearances in a Mets uniform.

Neither Tomas Nido or Patrick Mazeika shone while McCann was out, so there isn’t much chance of McCann losing his starting job….unless the aggressive Mets either added a short-term catcher (i.e. a pending free agent like Willson Contreras) or perhaps promoted star prospect Francisco Alvarez.  While Alvarez is crushing Double-A pitching, it would be bold to see the Mets promote him past Triple-A and directly to the majors, so the club would certainly prefer to just see McCann flash some of his good hitting form from the 2019-20 seasons.

More from the Amazins…

  • There was some speculation that Max Scherzer could be activated from his own IL stint this weekend, but the ace will instead make another minor league rehab start.  As Scherzer told MLB.com’s Paige Leckie and other reporters, he “got a little sore” after tossing his last rehab outing, plus a subsequent bullpen session, and continued rehab on his left oblique.  “In order to pitch and to start [in the majors] on Sunday, I was going to have to be perfect….I couldn’t check that box,” Scherzer said.  This doesn’t really count as a setback for the former Cy Young Award winner, given that a return tomorrow would have put him ahead of schedule from the 6-to-8 week timeline initially attached to his recovery.  Should all go well in this next rehab outing, Scherzer might be able to return to the Mets for their series against the Rangers next weekend (July 2-3).
  • Speaking of rehab assignments, right-hander Colin Holderman will start for Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday, Mets skipper Buck Showalter told Leckie and other reporters.  Holderman was (retroactively) placed on the 15-day IL on June 8 due to a right shoulder impingement, but it seems as though the rookie is making good progress.  Over his first 11 1/3 innings in the majors, Holderman has posted a 3.18 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate, and 8.7% walk rate.
  • Jacob deGrom threw his second live batting-practice session, tossing over 20 pitches.  (The New York Post’s Mike Puma was among those to report the news.)  DeGrom has another BP session scheduled, and he could then perhaps be lined up for a minor league rehab assignment.  It marks yet another step in deGrom’s recovery from a stress fracture in his scapula, as deGrom has yet to pitch this season — or in almost a full year, as deGrom’s appearance on July 7, 2021 was his last before a forearm injury eventually ended his 2021 campaign.
  • Left-handed relief pitching will be among the Mets’ priorities at the trade deadline this summer, Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes.  While the club will look for bullpen help in general, Chasen Shreve and Joely Rodriguez are the only southpaws in New York’s bullpen, and both have been a little shaky this year.

Injury Notes: Perez, Matzek, McCann

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The Royals placed Salvador Pérez on the 10-day injured list between games of today’s doubleheader with the White Sox. Pérez suffered a sprained left thumb during the opening contest, and Kansas City quickly moved to replace him with Sebastian Rivero on the active roster. Kansas City’s franchise backstop is off to a slow start, much like the rest of the lineup. Pérez is hitting .206/.239/.397 through 34 games. He’s popped six home runs but drawn only four walks with 38 strikeouts, contributing to one of the lowest on-base marks in the big leagues.

While Pérez is out of action, the Royals will get their first extended look at rookie MJ Melendez behind the plate. The 23-year-old backstop led all minor league players with 41 home runs last season, combining for a .286/.386/.625 line between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. That’s obviously elite production for any player, let alone a catcher, and Melendez is now regarded as one of the sport’s most promising prospects. He was recalled for his first MLB promotion at the beginning of the month and will take the majority of the catching time while Pérez is on the shelf.

The latest on a couple other injury situations around the league:

  • The Braves placed reliever Tyler Matzek on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 14, due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. That’s an ominous-sounding diagnosis, but an MRI this afternoon revealed no structural damage (relayed by Mark Bowman of MLB.com). Matzek will nevertheless be shut down from throwing for a couple weeks, indicating he’s likely to require a minor league rehab assignment even if he’s deemed alright to get back to action upon his next reevaluation. Matzek posted a 2.57 ERA in 63 innings for the World Series champions last season. He’s battled significant control woes in the early going this year, doling out nine walks among his 47 batters faced.
  • Mets catcher James McCann underwent successful left hamate surgery this morning, manager Buck Showalter informed reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The team announced last Friday that he’d require a procedure after being diagnosed with a fracture, projecting a recovery timeline of approximately six weeks. McCann, who signed a four-year deal over the 2020-21 offseason, hit .232/.294/.349 during his first season in Queens. He’s off to a slow start this season, hitting .196/.266/.286 through 21 contests. New York is relying on a Tomás Nido – Patrick Mazeika pairing in McCann’s absence.

James McCann Out Approximately Six Weeks Due To Hand Fracture

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The Mets announced that catcher James McCann has a hamate fracture in his left hand (via Bob Nightengale of USA Today). He’ll undergo surgery and miss around six weeks. Patrick Mazeika has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse in his place.

McCann has gotten off to a rough start, the second season of a four-year free agent contract he signed during the 2020-21 offseason. Through 21 games, the right-handed hitting backstop owns a .196/.266/.286 slash line. That’s a continuation of the .232/.294/.349 struggles he experienced during his first season in Queens, as McCann hasn’t managed to replicate the above-average form he showed for the White Sox in 2019-20.

Nevertheless, McCann has started 18 of New York’s first 33 games behind the dish. The veteran backstop is highly regarded for his work handling a pitching staff, and the Mets have gotten excellent results on the mound en route to their 22-11 start. While he’s out, New York will down to the light-hitting catching tandem of Tomás Nido and Mazeika.

It’s possible New York explores the catching market midseason. Even heading into the season, the Mets’ catching situation looked like a possible area for upgrade for a club hellbent on winning this season. McCann’s early offensive struggles and injury would only seem to increase the likelihood of an eventual external pickup. Willson Contreras and Christian Vázquez are among the impending free agent backstops who could be dealt by the end of July.

Acquiring a rental could allow New York to upgrade their catching corps for the stretch run without impeding the eventual path for top prospect Francisco Álvarez. One of the sport’s most talented prospects, Álvarez is viewed by many as the organization’s catcher of the future. At just 20 years old with only 24 games of Double-A experience under his belt, he probably won’t be a factor in the majors this year.

The Mets Have A Decision To Make Behind The Plate

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The Mets entered the 2020-21 offseason in need of an answer behind the plate. After two seasons as the primary backstop in Queens, Wilson Ramos hit the open market. Entering his age-33 season with defensive question marks, Ramos didn’t profile as a long-term solution anyhow.

There was plenty of speculation heading into the winter about the possibility of New York making a run at J.T. Realmuto. The two-time Silver Slugger Award winner lingered longer in free agency than the Mets appeared to want to wait, though. Instead, they pivoted to free agency’s second-best backstop. In December 2020, they inked James McCann to a four-year, $40.6MM deal.

It was an eyebrow-raising investment. Heading into the offseason, MLBTR projected McCann for a two-year, $20MM guarantee. The Mets offered more than double that amount, betting that he’d broken out later in his career after signing with the White Sox before the 2019 campaign. Over two seasons in Chicago, McCann had hit .276/.334/.474 (114 wRC+). During the 2020 shortened season, his pitch framing — which had been below-average throughout his career — was graded positively as well.

The Mets clearly felt McCann had turned a corner, believing he’d developed into at least a capable #1 catcher. Unfortunately for the organization, his production dropped substantially during his first season in Flushing. The University of Arkansas product hit .232/.294/.349 (80 wRC+) with ten home runs across 412 plate appearances, less productive than the .229/.305/.391 mark (89 wRC+) compiled by backstops leaguewide. Statcast pegged him as a below-average framer, albeit only slightly. McCann’s 27% caught stealing rate was solid, but he didn’t match his 2019-20 production either at the plate or in the eyes of the public defensive metrics.

McCann’s 2021 dip could leave the Mets with an interesting decision. There are certainly reasons New York could opt to stick with him as the primary backstop. He’s due another $32.45MM through 2024, for starters. One could argue that investment has already been made and the Mets shouldn’t let it impact their decision whether to stick with McCann going forward, but they wouldn’t be the first team to give a longer leash to a veteran playing on a fairly notable contract. Even independent of finances, New York might simply believe McCann’s primed to bounce back. The Mets valued him enough last winter to sign him for a deal above expectations. He’s generally highly-regarded as a leader and for his ability to work with pitching staffs. That’s not an easily quantifiable trait, but it’s one organizations no doubt value immensely.

Yet there are also reasons to think the Mets may not be so patient. They’ve been one of baseball’s most aggressive teams this winter, signing Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha. It’s an absolute win-now situation, and owner Steve Cohen hasn’t shown many qualms about spending. The Mets already have a projected player payroll in the $263MM range (via Jason Martinez of Roster Resource), and they’re reportedly willing to push near the $300MM mark if the situation presents itself. New general manager Billy Eppler wasn’t part of the organization when McCann was signed. Nor was manager Buck Showalter (although team president Sandy Alderson is still around). It’s possible Eppler and Showalter aren’t especially bullish on the 31-year-old backstop’s chances of a rebound year.

Bolstering the starting rotation is likely to be the priority for the Mets coming out of the lockout, but making a move at catcher wouldn’t seem all that far-fetched. It presently appears to be the weakest position player group on the depth chart. The Mets are hellbent on winning in 2022 after missing the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. The other options on the 40-man roster — Tomás Nido and Patrick Mazeika — would probably be miscast as regulars. If Mets brass isn’t confident in McCann regaining his 2019-20 form, they could look into alternatives.

There’s probably no one available in free agency who’d be better than McCann. There could be an opportunity to explore a deal that brings in a new backstop via trade. Willson Contreras, for instance, is one of the likeliest players around the league to be moved before the start of the season. He’s only controllable through next season, but that kind of short-term add might be preferable for the Mets anyhow. Baseball America recently ranked catching prospect Francisco Álvarez the top talent in the New York farm system, among the top 15 farmhands in the sport. The Mets presumably view Álvarez as the catcher of the future, but he’s yet to reach Double-A and just turned 20 years old, so expecting him to make a big league impact this year would be optimistic.

Contreras, to be clear, is only a speculative possibility. There’s no indication the Mets and Cubs have discussed a deal. Yet a trade for a catcher could be a way for the Mets to make another bold strike after the transactions freeze, a chance to upgrade perhaps their weakest position on the diamond. Whether they explore trade scenarios seems likely to come down to how the organization feels about McCann after an underwhelming first season in Queens.

Mets Activate James McCann

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The Mets have activated James McCann from the injured list, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. No corresponding move is needed at this time, as he will serve as the 29th man for today’s doubleheader.

The move comes just at the right time, as Chance Sisco was involved in a collision at the plate in the ninth inning of yesterday’s game. He’s still being evaluated today, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him involved in some kind of roster move tomorrow. McCann and Patrick Mazeika will split the catching duties in today’s twin bill.

McCann has been out for a little more than two weeks because of back spasms. Unfortunately for the Mets, even when healthy, he’s been closer to the Tigers’ version of McCann than the White Sox’ version from the past two seasons. In the first year of a four-year deal, McCann is hitting .240/.303/.357 in 337 plate appearances.

Mets Place James McCann On 10-Day Injured List

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The Mets have placed catcher James McCann on the 10-day injured list because of lower back spams, per Tim Healey of Newsday Sports (via Twitter). The move is retroactive to August 17th. The Mets do not expect McCann to miss more than the minimum amount of time, but given the specialization of the catcher position, they chose to be judicious in replacing him on the roster. Geoff Hartlieb was recalled from Triple-A.

Patrick Mazeika and Chance Sisco are already on the roster to share the catching duties in McCann’s absence. Mazeika has started behind the plate in the four games since McCann has been out. Sisco was claimed off waivers from the Orioles on June 25th.

Hartlieb was claimed off waivers from the Pirates earlier this season. The 27-year-old right-hander has struggled in small samples with both the Mets and the Pirates, tossing nine innings combined over seven appearances while allowing 11 earned runs. He was a 27th round draft pick of the Pirates back in 2016, posting solid run prevention numbers in the minors up through his debut in 2019. In parts of three seasons since, Hartlieb has logged 66 1/3 Major League innings with a 7.46 ERA, but 5.42 FIP.

Quick Hits: Rule Changes, Angels, McCann

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During a Zoom call with reporters, Rockies manager Bud Black suggested the possibility of teams losing their DH upon pulling their starting pitcher from the game, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The rule change’s purpose would be to deter the use of openers, while keeping some National League strategy in the game in the event that MLB decides to keep the universal DH. That said, Black’s idea could be considered even more outside-the-box than the opener itself, and it doesn’t seem likely to gain much traction. Besides, opener deterrence isn’t necessarily all that high up on the league’s to-do list. Limiting shifts, however, does appear to be gaining in popularity, notes Topkin. Forcing teams to keep two players on each side of the second base bag and keeping infielders on the infield dirt are two ways in which the league could decide to stymie current shifting strategies. Elsewhere…

  • The Angels and catcher James McCann did indeed have mutual interest before the Mets inked their backstop of choice to a four-year deal, per MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (via Twitter). The Angels have been one of the more aggressive teams so far this winter. With many holes to fill, it’s no surprise that they would check in on a cheaper catching option than superstar free agent J.T. Realmuto.
  • A few catchers have come off the board already, increasing the likelihood that the Angels enter 2021 with Max Stassi and Anthony Bemboom as their catching tandem. That would be fine as far as manager Joe Maddon is concerned, notes Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times. The veteran Stassi would figure to get the first crack at starter reps after slashing .278/.352/.533 across 105 plate appearances last season. Bemboom had a fine showing in 2020, though the 30-year-old has never received more than 60 plate appearances in a season. The Angels are said to be at least exploring bringing in veteran Kurt Suzuki, who is just a year removed from helming a World-Series-winning staff in Washington.

Mets Sign James McCann

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TODAY: The signing has been officially announced. It’s a $40.6MM deal that includes a $600K signing bonus, Tim Healey of Newsday tweets.

DECEMBER 12, 12:48pm: The deal is done pending McCann’s physical, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).  An official announcement from the Mets is expected to come today.

11:21am: The Mets and James McCann are in the “final stages” of completing a four-year deal that will pay McCann around $40MM, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  According to ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan, the deal is worth “just a touch over” the $40MM threshold and there is a signing bonus involved.  The contract will be official once McCann passes a physical.  McCann is represented by the Ballengee Group.

After reports surfaced earlier this week that McCann and the Mets were on the verge of a deal, it seemingly took a few days more to reach an agreement.  While McCann was the second-best catcher on the free agent market after J.T. Realmuto, a four-year deal worth north of $40MM is more than double the two-year/$20MM pact that MLB Trade Rumors projected for McCann, making it a very nice score for the 30-year-old.

McCann produced fairly unremarkable numbers as the Tigers’ regular catcher from 2015-18, and was non-tendered following a rough 2018 season.  McCann then joined the White Sox and rather surprisingly broke out, hitting .276/.334/.474 with 25 homers over 587 plate appearances since the start of the 2019 season.  McCann greatly improved both his amount of hard contact and the quality of that hard contact, though he did get some good fortune in 2020 — a .339 BABIP and a .372 wOBA that far outpaced his .329 xwOBA.  (McCann also had a .359 BABIP in 2019.)

McCann’s defense also took a step up, as recently outlined by MLBTR’s Steve Adams…

Behind the plate, McCann has long been adept at controlling the running game. Even with the Tigers, he nabbed 37 percent of those who attempted to take a base against him. One knock on McCann, however, was on his receiving ability — or lack thereof. McCann ranked well below average in terms of framing metrics for much of his time with the Tigers and even early in his White Sox tenure — a flaw that likely influenced the White Sox’ decision to sign Yasmani Grandal to a four-year pact last winter.

Recognizing that shortcoming, McCann spent the bulk of his (2019-20) offseason working with catching guru Jerry Narron to improve his receiving and framing. The results paid off, as Statcast ranked McCann as much-improved in that regard, particularly with pitches at the bottom of the strike zone, which was where he’d struggled most. McCann went from garnering strike calls on just 44.1 percent of pitches at or slightly below the bottom of the zone to an excellent 61.8 percent. One can suggest that there’s some small-sample smoke and mirrors at play, but McCann’s improvement was pronounced enough that it can’t be entirely dismissed as small-sample noise. It would seem that the Mets agree.

A four-year contract for a 30-year-old catcher (McCann turns 31 in June) carries some risk, though making an aggressive play to address a clear roster weakness is the type of boldness Mets fans expected once Steve Cohen bought the team.  At least in the short term, the Mets have now strongly upgraded a position that was a major offseason question mark, and it also sets the table for further transactions.

For one, Realmuto is no longer in the picture, meaning that the Mets can now save their biggest spending splurge for another player….or even players.  As noted by Ken Davidoff of the New York Post, the Mets “stayed in touch with the Realmuto camp” if the McCann talks fell through, but with McCann now signed, a preferred major target like George Springer or Trevor Bauer could potentially be next.

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