Will James McCann return? What’s next for potential backups Zack Collins, Yermin Mercedes and Seby Zavala? 4 questions about Chicago White Sox catchers heading into 2021.
This is the third in a series of position-by-position analyses of the Chicago White Sox after the 2020 season.
Here are four questions about Sox catchers.
1. Will James McCann return?
James McCann made the All-Star team for the first time in 2019 and followed up with another strong season in 2020 while sharing catching duties with Yasmani Grandal. He slashed .289/.360/.536 in 31 games with three doubles, seven home runs and 15 RBIs.
McCann is set to become a free agent. After the season-ending loss to the Oakland Athletics in Game 3 of the American League wild-card series, he was asked if would be back and said, “That’s kind of tomorrow’s problem.”
“I have nothing but fond memories of my time here,” McCann said.
He should gain a lot of interest on the free-agent market.
“We think the world of James McCann," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Oct. 12. “He knows that. He knows it whether it’s what he’s heard from me or (director of player development Chris Getz) or the coaching staff or even from (Chairman) Jerry (Reinsdorf). ... He knows what we think of him. At the same time, he’s earned the right to be a free agent. This time under much better circumstances than the ones he was last time when we were able to get him.
"We’re going to stay in touch and we’re going to see how this market unfolds. He’s going to explore his options, and we’re going to be diligent about making sure he understands how he potentially fits and seeing how things go. That said, he’s an awfully good player at a premium position, and those guys tend to have pretty good markets. We’ll just have to see what the coming weeks hold for both of us.”
2. How did Yasmani Grandal fare in his first season with the Sox?
It was a season of adjustments for Yasmani Grandal, who signed a four-year, $73 million contract in November with the Sox.
He had to adapt to a new league and new rules that restricted in-game video.
Even after homering in the final game of the regular season and the first two games of the wild-card series, Grandal laughed when asked if he was swinging better from the left side and said: “Oh, no, not at all. It’s still the same. I guess that’s why we’ve gotten used to playing 162 (games) rather than 60. The second half of the year can be a completely different thing than the first half.”
Grandal slashed .230/.351/.422 with eight home runs, 27 RBIs and a team-leading 30 walks in 46 games. He saw some time at first base and designated hitter when James McCann was behind the plate.
“In terms of actual playing time, it was allocated pretty decently (between Grandal and McCann),” Hahn said. “Granted it was in a bit of a sprint of a season with a short run-up, a little different from your normal year, but both players benefited from being spelled by the other one from time to time.”
Grandal could be in line to catch a bulk of the games in 2021, depending on what happens with McCann.
3. How would possibly losing James McCann impact the pitching staff?
James McCann created a tight bond with Lucas Giolito, which was most evident Aug. 25 at Guaranteed Rate Field when Giolito pitched the 19th no-hitter in Sox history.
According to Baseball Reference, Giolito had a 2.61 ERA in eight starts (51 1/4 u2154 innings) with McCann catching and a 5.66 ERA in four starts (20 1/4 u2154 innings) with Yasmani Grandal catching.
Baseball Reference noted “the ERA here is not a true catcher ERA, in that it does not account for responsible runners when there is a catcher substitution. Runs allowed are credited to the catcher in the game when the run scored. Earned runs are credited to the catcher who was catcher when the scoring player was at bat.”
Giolito’s track record of success with McCann extends to 2019. The sample size with Grandal likely is too small to make a definitive assessment.
Grandal was behind the plate for seven of Dallas Keuchel’s starts. The veteran pitcher had a 1.36 ERA in 39 1/4 u2154 innings with Grandal catching, while his ERA was 3.04 in four starts (23 1/4 u2154 innings) with McCann.
Grandal has a strong reputation for working with pitching staffs. It’s one reason he was the top catcher on the free-agent market after the 2019 season. Expect him to continue to build that cohesiveness with the Sox.
4. What’s next for potential backups Zack Collins, Yermin Mercedes and Seby Zavala?
If James McCann goes elsewhere, the Sox have in-house options to possibly serve as Yasmani Grandal’s backup.
Zack Collins hit .186 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 27 games in 2019. The No. 10 pick in the 2016 draft had a strong spring training, hitting .333 with two home runs and six RBIs in 13 games, but it didn’t carry over to his limited playing time in the regular season. He went 1-for-16 (.063) in nine games.
Yermin Mercedes made a splash during the pandemic-shortened spring training, hitting .381 with four homers and nine RBIs in 13 games. He made his major-league debut as a pinch hitter Aug. 2 in Kansas City, Mo., and went 0-for-1. He was optioned back to the Schaumburg training facility the next day.
Seby Zavala, a member of the taxi squad in Schaumburg, appeared in five games in 2019.
The Sox could have some at-bats available in backup roles at catcher and designated hitter, depending on what happens with McCann and if the team decides not to pick up Edwin Encarnacion’s option. Any of the three catchers could be in position to play a bigger role next season.
———
©2020 the Chicago Tribune
Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
