White Sox: James McCann avoids arbitration with contract

The Chicago White Sox and James McCann avoid arbitration with a contract extension that will keep the All-Star catcher on the team.

The Chicago White Sox announced on Monday that they have signed James McCann to a one year contract to avoid arbitration. The deal is for one year and will pay McCann 5.4 million dollars. The All-Star catcher is going to be a big part of the team in 2020 and should help them have their first good season in a long time. This is a great move for Rick Hahn and all fans of the Chicago White Sox.

McCann was an All-Star in 2020 after having a career year. He was one of the best catchers in the big leagues to earn that spot. He hit .273 by going 120-439. He had 26 doubles, 18 home runs, 60 RBIs, and 62 runs scored in 118 games for the White Sox. Those are some really good stats for him in his first year with the Chicago White Sox. His appearance on the American League All-Star team was the first of his career and he hopes it wasn’t his last. He was the first catcher of the White Sox to play in the summer classic since A.J. Pierzynski did it in 2006.

McCann is one of the older players on the team at 29 which isn’t even that old but they need some leadership. The White Sox are one of the youngest teams in all of Major League Baseball so bringing in McCann for another year is a very strong move. The White Sox have high hopes for 2020 so McCann will need to produce at a similar rate to 2019.

The other part of baseball is playing in the field and McCann really helped out a few of the White Sox pitchers by being a solid backstop for them. In particular, he really helped Lucas Giolito elevate into one of the best pitchers in the American League. This is something that the White Sox hope continues into 2020 because as good as their lineup is, they need to be able to pitch the baseball well. McCann will certainly play a big role in that.