The New York Yankees have some massive questions heading into the offseason and free agency and while Robinson Cano is a top focus, the team has a big opening at catcher and one player they could spend on is Brian McCann from the Braves and other teams in the running could be the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers this winter.
McCann is considered to be one of the top free agents on the market and the best catcher and while the Yankees have to deal with either re-signing Robinson Cano or not, the team also will be looking hard at McCann, as he is an option after they had a very rough season at the catcher position. The team allowed Russell Wilson to leave and that turned out to be a bad decision, as the team had no solid options at catcher for most of the year and now they could try and spend big on the position. The Texas Rangers could be an option as well, while the Boston Red Sox have Jarrod Saltalamacchia as a free agent and he could be gone this offseason as well as Mike Napoli.
McCann has the uber agent in Scott Boras and that could mean some big negotiations and big contract demands, but the Yankees, Red Sox and Rangers all could afford a $100 million contract and that may be exactly what he needs to sign. The Yankees are obviously reluctant to sign Robinson Cano to a $300 million deal, but they may feel more comfortable at $100 million and way less years for a catcher and while McCann is 30 and heading into the latter stages of his career, he has been a consistent power hitter and could help fill the void for the Yankees moving forward at the position.
The Braves may not pony up the cash to keep their home grown catcher, as they have Evan Gattis waiting in the wings and that could mean McCann inks a big deal elsewhere. Last season McCann was dealing with injuries so that hampers his stats from 2012, but he still ended up with a solid 20 home runs and nearly 60 RBIs and that is more than what the Yankees got from their catchers last season and that makes him a prime option to chase this offseason for New York, who will try to get costs down but still could spend a bit, including on names like Carlos Beltran and Matt Garza.
The Yankees should beware though about McCann, who got a $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Braves, as Joe Mauer signed a big deal as a catcher and so far that has been a mixed bag and he could get something in line with Yadier Molina, who is in on a five-year, $75 million contract, and McCann made $12 million last season. McCann has had better years in the past and with the team not re-signing Russell Martin last season, they had a huge void at catcher and now they can try and remedy that.
McCann has been consistent with 20 or more home runs in each of his last six season and his best RBI year was 94 in 2009. The Braves now have set themselves up to get a pick if McCann leaves for another team in free agency.
