The New York Mets headed into the offseason with catcher near the top of their free-agent shopping list.
According to multiple reports, the Mets can now cross that position off after agreeing to a four-year contract worth a tad more than $40 million with former Chicago White Sox catcher James McCann on Saturday.
McCann, 30, hit a career-best .289 with seven home runs and 15 RBI while sharing Chicago’s catching duties with Yasmani Grandal during the pandemic-shortened season. McCann appeared in 31 games.
An All-Star in 2018, when he hit .273 with 18 homers and 60 RBI, McCann is a career .249 batter with 65 home runs and 252 RBI in seven seasons. The Mets covet McCann for his defense as much as his bat because he has thrown out 36 percent of would-be base-stealers (127 of 354) in his career.
New York needed a catcher because it declined the option of Wilson Ramos, 33, who batted .239 last season.