White Sox: An early 26 man Opening Day 2021 roster prediction
Catchers
- Yasmani Grandal
- Zack Collins
The Chicago White Sox had a mostly good offseason. The only thing they took a hit on was their backup catcher position. They had the best duo in the league for the 2020 season when they had Yasmani Grandal and James McCann. Grandal is a top-three catcher every year and has even been the best catcher on many occasions. McCann was consistently a top-ten guy so it was quite a nice duo to have as the backstop. When one wasn’t playing, the other would be the designated hitter. It was quite a luxury for one year.
Unfortunately, they won’t have that luxury this year. McCann took a well-deserved lucrative contract with the New York Mets this offseason. He wanted to be someone’s number one guy which he will do over there in New York. He earned that opportunity by playing so well and the White Sox chose Grandal instead. It isn’t a bad decision because Grandal is better but McCann’s absence will be noticed.
To replace McCann, there are a few different options. Zack Collins, however, feels like the guy who is going to get the first crack at being on the roster. He should be the Opening Day backup catcher with the way things are going right now. Someone like Jonathan Lucroy, Yermin Mercedes, or Seby Zavala may step up along the way but for right now Collins is the best bet to be the backup.