Is it time to upgrade over Urias and McCann?

[Greg Pappas]

Do you feel Urias and/or McCann have run their course here?  Would you be pleased to see either released/traded and potential upgrades brought up/in?

Urias is a quality defender, especially at 3B, and despite his awful start to this season, had a 112 OPS+ in 2021, 105 OPS+ in 2022, and 99 OPS+ in 2023.  He'll turn 30 in two weeks, and has shown to be a better hitter in the past.  Not a good hitter, but certainly better.  I'd personally be pleased to see an upgrade.

McCann's defense seems to be regressing, and he's awful at the plate.  The soon to be 34-year old had a 76 OPS+ in 2021, 55 OPS+ in 2022, and 80 OPS+ in 2023.  Thus far this year it's a 57 OPS+.  A couple of big hits here and there are nice, but he is upgradable.  Would Maverick Handley, a rookie, be an upgrade?  Maybe, but I'd suspect Elias would look for a more seasoned backup catcher .  This all assumes Elias would even entertain moving on from McCann.

 

Your thoughts?

[Sports Guy]

Zero chance they look to upgrade on McCann.  
 

Urias, if they upgrade from him, will come from within.

[CaptainRedbeard]

McCann is one of the veterans in the clubhouse so there’s no way they replace him midseason. He should play less, though, even if that means Adley DHs less and overall plays less so he can catch more frequently. 

Unless they are 100% certain Mayo and Norby should not be given any time at 3B/2B, there is no reason to bring in another IF from outside the organization, even if they decide Urias has declined into DFA territory. 

Calling up Mayo would solve both problems, since he’d pick up the DH ABs that Adley vacates by catching more often. 

[interloper]

We're stuck with McCann, unfortunately. I won't discount that he might have had a good clubhouse effect since he's been here. I don't hate the guy as a backup catcher. It sure seems like they drafted Maverick and then decided they don't trust him enough to catch any ML games. Kinda weird. 

Urias we have talked to death. It's either going to be Mayo or Holliday that spells the end for Urias, but as a guy that you stash on the bench and never play, we could do worse. I could see him getting replaced around the All-Star break, but I could also see him being kept around for reliable defense heading into the playoffs. 

[1fingerwillie]

Neither will be on the roster next season. McCann should stay this season IMO as Bassallo needs a full season in the minors. But Urias should be gone yesterday with Mayo replacing him.

[Just Regular]

I agree McCann's our guy.    It isn't as easily quantifiable but I think even Sigbot concedes that continuity among the humans in the pitchers and catchers meetings has some value for a ballclub.

McCann would probably be forecast for zero playoff plate appearances unless game situations are very lopsided.

His spot in the "Top 9 Bats v. LHP" is much safer while Ramon Urias rather than Coby Mayo is on the roster.

[Philip]

McCann is actually a better catcher than the ones we have in the system.

Urias can go.

[Hank Scorpio]

Yeah there's no way they move on from McCann. He is a beloved clubhouse guy.

[Greg Pappas]

I get that he's a beloved guy, a veteran presence, and has worked with our staff for a year and a half roughly, but at some point the juice isn't worth the squeeze.  If a 57 OPS+ bat and worsening defense is not poor enough to move on from, what is? Regardless, I feel most are right... Elias will hold onto him. 

[emmett16]

I think anyone in Urias' position would struggle.  Trying to hit off the worlds best pitchers with ABs few and far between is a tall ask. They made a choice to upgrade him in the off-season and they used the internal upgrade to acquire a #1 SP.  We could have had an upgrade, but at the expense of pitching staff.  

[Can_of_corn]

7 minutes ago, Greg Pappas said:

I get that he's a beloved guy, a veteran presence, and has worked with our staff for a year and a half roughly, but at some point the juice isn't worth the squeeze.  If a 57 OPS+ bat and worsening defense is not poor enough to move on from, what is? Regardless, I feel most are right... Elias will hold onto him. 

How big an improvement can you expect to get?  Backup catchers are generally not very good.

[StottyByNature]

The backup catcher spot is always volatile with the small sample size from playing only once or twice a week.  McCann handles the position well and provides a little more pop than most backups.  If he can get his OPS back up to the mid-.600's like last year then you can live with that.

If we have learned nothing over the last few years it should be that minor leaguers require time for growing pains and there is no sense in doing that at the backup catcher spot right now.

As for Urias, he adds a lot of flexbility to the roster and has been a consistently low-.700s OPS guy for three plus years now.  There is no reason to believe that he has simple fallen off a cliff this year when he's not quite 30.  

[BRobinsonfan]

Am I the only one who thinks 65 at bats is a bit premature to pronounce McCann a total failure as a backup catcher? 

[TommyPickles]

2 minutes ago, BRobinsonfan said:

Am I the only one who thinks 65 at bats is a bit premature to pronounce McCann a total failure as a backup catcher? 

Kinda how I feel about pronouncing Urias (who has been worth more WAR than Hays or Mountcastle since 2021) a failure after 56 ABs...

[Gofannon]

McCann as a backup catcher isn't terrible.  McCann as a backup catcher starting 17 out of 41 games is terrible.  Divide that number in half, get another right-handed DH option on the team, and let James McCann be for Gen Z what Jeff Tackett was for Gen X - if you see him in the lineup, then that means it's Sunday.