Fansided

One future Yankee on each MLB team

By Adam Strangis

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 29: General view of a wall displaying retired New York Yankees numbers which is seen during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on July 29, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Rays 5-4. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 29: General view of a wall displaying retired New York Yankees numbers which is seen during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on July 29, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Rays 5-4. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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TORONTO, ON – JUNE 29: Kevin Pillar #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays is forced out at home plate in the fourth inning during MLB game action as James McCann #34 of the Detroit Tigers records the putout at Rogers Centre on June 29, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – JUNE 29: Kevin Pillar #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays is forced out at home plate in the fourth inning during MLB game action as James McCann #34 of the Detroit Tigers records the putout at Rogers Centre on June 29, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Detroit Tigers – James McCann, Catcher

Adding a 28-year old catcher who can’t hit doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense but with the Gary Sanchez injury, a capable backup who is a plus defensively would be a huge boost for the Yankees as a whole. Now, Austin Romine is a solid catcher who is fine offensively and also ranks as a plus defensively. However, FanGraphs has McCann even higher and no team can ever have enough catchers. New York has to be a little spooked by Sanchez being hurt again this season. The next man up at the position has been Kyle Higashioka, he of a total of 16 games in the majors. McCann would be a good veteran emergency backstop and the Yankees don’t have the best rotation behind stud Luis Severino. They need all the help they can get. McCann would certainly be able to help pull as much as possible out of the Yankees starters. His value would lie behind the plate, not with the bat.

This wouldn’t be a bad fit for this season. After all, McCann doesn’t serve a major purpose in the Tigers future plans. By the time they rebuild their roster, McCann will be over 30 and probably coming to the end of his career. He’s also making under $3 million with two years of arbitration left so he wouldn’t cost much from the acquisition standpoint either. If New York haas any doubts about Sanchez and his road to recovery, McCann makes a lot of sense as a low-cost, defensively sound option for the postseason.

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