Mets find themselves in need of a Catcher and find themselves in the fortunate position where: a) Two great options are available in McCann and Realmuto. b) Have a new owner with deep pockets looking to improve the team. c) Have an active payroll entering 2021 season well under the luxury tax threshold (about $81 million to spend). I will be analyzing the numbers behind the two options and convince you why the Mets need to sign Realmuto over McCann. The numbers are a combination from 2017 through 2020 season. I used baseball-reference.com for my research. I think it paints an obvious picture as which of the two would drastically improve the Mets.
| Category | James McCann | JT Realmuto | Winner |
| Age | 30 (June 13, 1990) | 29 (March 18, 1991) | Realmuto |
| Hits per AB | 331 H 1315 AB (25.17%) | 474 H 1898 AB (24.97%) | McCann (although its a much smaller sample size) |
| Extra base hits (no HR) | 62 (59 2B / 3 3B) | 114 (103 2B / 11 3B) | Realmuto |
| HR | 46 | 74 | Realmuto |
| RBI | 163 | 254 | Realmuto |
| Average | .252 | .276 | Realmuto |
| OBP | .308 | .335 | Realmuto |
| SLUG | .406 | .477 | Realmuto |
| WAR | 5.5 | 14.5 | Realmuto |
| Defensive WAR | 2.4 | 3.7 | Realmuto |
| Isolated Power (ISO) | .154 | .202 | Realmuto |
| Caught Stealing % | 32.5% | 35.5% | Realmuto |
| ERA (Catching) | 4.43 | 4.84 | McCann |
| Expected Contract (MLBTradeRumors) | 2 year $20 MIL | 5 years $125 MIL | McCann |
What about blocking Francisco Alvarez? Listen… I am a HUGE prospect guy. I absolutely love seeing these kids develop into studs and have a successful careers in the MLB level. HOWEVER, the kid has yet to prove himself in the higher competitive levels in the Minors and has an ETA of 2023 earliest to the big show. I would hate for the Mets to rush his development. Catchers usually take a lot longer to develop in the minors than most other players. Realmuto on a 5 year deal is NOT going to impact the 19 year old’s path to the bigs. If anything, the final year of Realmuto’s contract with the Mets would be beneficial towards Alvarez. Alvarez can come up as a backup catcher on the Mets roster in 2024 and learn from Realmuto.
I am just I am going to keeping it Real(muto) with you. James McCann is a great option for a team on a tight budget. There are plenty of teams looking to sign him for that very same reason. When it comes to the numbers as listed above, JT Realmuto dominated McCann. Whoever is signing McCann is going to get a quality defensive Catcher on the cheaper side. Whoever signs Realmuto, gets a game changer defensively and offensively. The likelihood of another Catcher of Realmuto’s level ever reaching free agency is slim to none. It is a very rare opportunity and the Mets have the resources to make it happen. I also believe that by signing Realmuto, it sets the tone to the rest of baseball, especially to the very talented NLE, that the New York Mets are NOT messing around.
(Cover Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
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