JUST IN: Red Sox sign another key man to league deal after going on injury in Orioles

According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, veteran catcher  has gotten offers from at least four different teams. The Red Sox are one of the teams that are interested in the backstop’s services. McCann had spent the last two seasons with the Orioles, and although Baltimore had expressed interest in the possibility of a reunion, the acquisition of Gary Sanchez by the team has most certainly put an end to any possibility of such a reunion occurring.

In light of the fact that Sanchez is one of the several catchers who are currently available but have already found new teams, the Sox are in a bit of a bind when it comes to filling the position. During the Winter Meetings, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made the relatively simple observation that “there were more teams in need of catching than there were available catchers.” Breslow made this observation while speaking with Cotillo and other reporters. That particular demographic was the one that shifted extremely, extremely swiftly.

The need that Boston has is not as obvious as the need that most other clubs have, since the Red Sox are explicitly seeking for what Breslow referred to as “the right complement and right backup” for Connor Wong. Both McCann and Wong are right-handed batters; however, manager Alex Cora emphasized that hitting balance is less necessary than excellent defense. McCann and Wong both hit right-handed. Given that Statcast’s measurements were notably negative on McCann’s overall defense in 2024 and were rather inconsistent over his career in general, it is possible that this might not be a perfect fit for McCann as well.

McCann was able to secure a four-year contract worth $40.6 million from the Mets during the offseason of 2020-21 as a result of two successful seasons he had with the White Sox during the 2019-20 season. Unfortunately, McCann’s hitting percentages fell in the following of the contract, and the Mets eventually dealt him to the Orioles in December 2022 with New York eating the remainder of McCann’s remaining pay. McCann hit only .228/.274/.382 in 459 PA and 134 games with the O’s over the last two seasons, but his ability to handle a bit more than just a backup’s share of catching chores offered Baltimore more flexibility in keeping Adley Rutschman’s bat in the lineup as a designated hitter.