Arguably the best catcher available on the free-agent market this winter, Brian McCann will begin his “tour” to meet with the interested clubs over the next couple of weeks reports Buster Olney of ESPN. And the Boston Red Sox are a planned stop on this so called tour.
McCann’s name has already been linked to the Red Sox this winter given the uncertainty of Jarrod Saltalamacchia‘s future with the club. The former Brave has as many as six highly interested teams who the backstop plans to meet with including the Red Sox. Others include the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers along with a handful more according to Olney.
The original asking price for McCann was thought to be around 5-years and close to, if not exceeding $100 million. A healthy splurge for whichever team is willing to meet his demands and given Carlos Ruiz recently re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, McCann may just get what he’s asking for with one less viable option on the market.
Whether or not Ben Cherington will hand out a $100 million dollar contract remains to be seen but he has to be leery at best given his first hand experience of how those nine figure deals can handcuff a team going forward.
McCann’s services would be an upgrade for the Sox behind the plate given his defensive abilities that are much stronger than Saltalamacchia’s, not to mention his power bat that he possesses.
But with two budding prospects on the Red Sox horizon, any long-term deal may not be in the cards that Cherington is dealing with. We’ve already heard that the club offered Salty a two-year deal but number 39 is seeking a three or four-year deal. Given Ruiz was granted a third year on his deal with the Phillies, Saltalamacchia and his party may be in the driver’s seat on this one, if in fact a Boston reunion is what both sides truly want.
Which begs the question if the Sox would go as long as five-years for the 30-year old McCann. His tour stop in Boston could be a quick one if his demands aren’t lowered and Cherington isn’t willing to budge on his stance. Would McCann give up years for a chance to win a ring? In today’s baseball world, it’s highly unlikely especially considering he’s the top rated catcher on the market and will surely cash in on a long-term deal that could fetch him that elusive nine-figure contract. Who needs to win when you have one-hundred million right? I beg to differ.