James, after a month long slump, seems to be back in his groove. After his average dropping into the low .270s, he’s got it back to .293. He’s making himself some really big coin in the future with this great season.
I just hope the White Sox are smart enough to pay whatever’s necessary to keep him in Chicago with a long term contract. They’ve got some nice young players and pitchers as a result of the Chris Sale (and other) trade(s). James can be really valuable to the development of those young pitchers. Come on Sox, you are in the late stages of your rebuild. Wake up and see how important McCann is to the Sox getting back to the play-offs.
They’ve got a great young catching prospect coming, right? What better way to bring him along than to let him back-up James McCann.
I thought it unusual that the White Sox gave him a one-year deal, plus an arbitration year. I don’t understand the way all the contracts work anymore. But the fact he’s got an arbitration year means he’s going to get a big jump. He will get paid what a great hitting, great defensive catcher should get based on his numbers. And, they are spectacular this season.
I do think there is great sentiment in the clubhouse that James has helped the pitching staff.
This is all pretty cool. As everyone knows, I’m big on James McCann. Makes me happy to see this.
Clay (or anyone), here’s a link to a great story on James and his relationship with the White Sox and their players. It’s by a baseball writer and contributor to Forbes, and is a couple months old, but everything is still pertinent.
It specifically mentions Zach Collins, the catching prospect you mentioned. Maybe the most important item in the article is James’ relationship with Lucas Giolito, who Sox management believes will be their next great pitcher. Lucas is 13-6 this year for a club 11 games under .500. No easy feat.
Like you, I really want the best for James, and selfishly, I hope it’s with my White Sox. If not, I’ll still be rooting for him, even if he’s with my most hated team, the Yankees.
edit: Very belatedly, here’s the link that Clay was kind enough to also link in his post below:
