Mets catcher James McCann returns from IL in win over Marlins

New York Mets catcher James McCann was activated from the 10-day injured list prior to today’s 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins, and the catcher went 1-for-4 with a single and a run scored in his first game since May 10.  

McCann had to undergo surgery to fix a broken left hamate bone, costing him a little beyond the initial six-week recovery timeline. Nevertheless, McCann is back behind the plate and looking to finally get his Mets tenure on track. Since signing a four-year, $40.6M free agent deal in the 2020-21 offseason, McCann has hit only .227/.290/.341 over his first 142 games and 476 plate appearances in a Mets uniform.

Neither Tomas Nido or Patrick Mazeika shone while McCann was out, so there isn’t much chance of McCann losing his starting job, unless the aggressive Mets either added a short-term catcher or perhaps promoted star prospect Francisco Alvarez. While Alvarez is crushing Double-A pitching, it would be bold to see the Mets promote him past Triple-A and directly to the majors, so the club would certainly prefer to just see McCann flash some of his good hitting form from the 2019-20 seasons.