Although it was initially reported on Friday, the White Sox haven't yet announced the James McCann deal, as it was pending a physical.
In the meantime, another catcher came off the board, and for a seemingly team-friendly price. The Mets signed Wilson Ramos for two years and $19 million, which can be extended to $27.5 million if a $10 million club option is picked up for 2021.
MLB Trade Rumors assesses how the catching market could unfold from here.
Ramos hit .298/.343/.483 over 306 games the past three seasons, which is a pretty strong showing when considering he had a knee surgery in the middle of it. He was in my "hits well, catches OK" group in my roundup of catching options, with adequate defensive numbers to support that production.
By comparison, Welington Castillo received two years and $15 million from the White Sox for a less potent bat and worse defensive numbers. That move was seen as a fair price, and potentially a steal if Castillo's defensive improvement in 2017 had staying power. It didn't.
Barring a trade -- and if Ramos is getting $19 million on the open market, I don't see trade value for Castillo until the summer -- the White Sox will hope that an unfamiliar pitching staff with awful control and an 80-game suspension created too much noise, but Castillo's 2017 is the outlier in a poor history of receiving.
We'll also have to wait until Rick Hahn officially comments on McCann's game, but I'm guessing they're hoping he does more than throw.
Spare Parts
It turns out Dale Murphy is both a pretty good writer and pretty open-minded for modern players who approach the game differently than he did.
The key to chemistry, though, is not sameness; it’s diversity. You need the yin and the yang. You’ve got to play within your personality, and you can’t be someone you’re not. Bryce Harper being Bryce Harper won’t irritate teammates. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Guys would be irritated if Bryce Harper wasn’t being Bryce Harper. When you’re trying to be someone you’re not, when it’s all an act and you’re just faking it, that’s what rubs guys the wrong way.
When I look at Harper, I don’t see an all-about-me diva. I see a guy who loves to play. I see a guy who plays hard all the time. I see a guy who has an edge to him.
A century after the Black Sox threw the World Series and forced baseball to reject all association with gambling, Major League Baseball is ready to partner with casinos and make a ton of money off it. Grant Brisbee examines how it got to be so different, but SABR Black Sox Committee Chairman Jacob Pomrenke said that players didn't gamble just to augment low salaries. In a lot of cases, they did so because it was right there.
Until Zack Burdi can get over the hump, Randy Savage is probably the most famous baseball player my hometown has ever produced, so I enjoyed this detailed look at somebody who also got his baseball start in Downers Grove Little League.
