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Free agent catcher James McCann and the Mets are finalizing a four-year contract worth just over $40 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

McCann, 30, is the second catcher in the past seven seasons to sign a four-year deal worth at least $10 million per season, per Passan. His former team, the White Sox, signed Yasmani Grandal to a four-year, $73 million contract last offseason, giving them two of the game's top catchers and indicating they would not re-sign McCann this winter.

The White Sox signed McCann in December 2018 after a dreadful start to his career with the Tigers, who non-tendered him that November. McCann became one of the best catchers in baseball with Chicago, making the All-Star team in his breakout 2019 season and posting a 144 OPS+ in 2020.

McCann marks the first major signing for the Mets under new owner Steve Cohen. The Mets were among the favorites to sign J.T. Realmuto, this year's top free-agent catcher, but with Realmuto projected to sign a five-year deal worth $110 million, according to Fangraphs, McCann became a cheaper alternative. 

Now, the Mets have their catcher and can use the money they saved in signing McCann over Realmuto to target a few other top free agents, such as George Springer, Trevor Bauer and/or DJ LeMahieu.