Baltimore Orioles Urged To Move Off Veteran Catcher This Season

It might be time for the Baltimore Orioles to make a move regarding their backup catcher situation.

Apr 22, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher James McCann (27) runs the bases after a solo home run in the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. | Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles are set up for success in the present and in the future.

There are not a lot of organizations around Major League Baseball who can say the same thing, one of the reasons why there is so much optimism surrounding this franchise.

Not only are they legitimate World Series contenders this season, but they also will have loads of talented prospects hitting their Major League roster soon that should keep increasing the profile of this team moving forward.

But, while that is certainly nice, the goal is to win championships whenever that opportunty presents itself.

With the third-best record in the American League, the Orioles are clearly ready to win now.

To do so, though, they're going to need to optimize their lineup that has been a bit inconsistent at different times of this year.

When looking at how Baltimore can do that, Harrison Bruns of Just Baseball took a look at their catching situation and thinks it's time they move on from veteran backup James McCann.

With a current bWAR of -0.3 this season, the 33-year-old has clearly hurt the team whenever he's out on the field. With a split that is roughly 60/40 between their superstar catcher Adley Rutschman and McCann behind the plate, there have been more times the backup has been out there than he probably should.

The issue is that manager Brandon Hyde doesn't want to wear out Rutschman's legs before they get into the important stretch of the season. This causes him to keep his star's bat in the lineup by using him as their designated hitter.

But that means McCann is behind the plate and getting opportunities on offense where he's posted a 46 OPS+ and 39 wRC+.

That is a major issue.

Bruns thinks the Orioles should give someone else in their pipeline a look.

"Another option would be for the Orioles to DFA McCann, who will be a free agent this offseason and promote newly acquired Blake Hunt," he writes.

The former second round pick has performed well in the minors this year, slashing .273/.343/.511 with five homers, 10 extra-base hits, and 21 RBI.

Baltimore acquired him from the Seattle Mariners on May 22 in exchange for reliever Mike Baumann and minor league catcher Michael Perez, so they clearly view him as someone who might be an option for them down the line.

It feels like that time should be coming soon.