McCann shows a spark, but will Braves give him new deal?
Brian McCann's solo homer in second inning jump-started the Braves' offense. (AP photo)
(UPDATED: 10 p.m.)
In his first six full major league seasons, Brian McCann has played in six All-Star games, won an All-Star game MVP, won five Silver Slugger awards, accumulated more home runs, RBIs, extra-base hits and game-winning hits than any catcher in baseball, won a lot of games, smiled a lot, never caused a riff and has proved to be so genuine and honest that he probably wouldn’t know a magic muscle-inflating pill if one did a backflip into his morning Cocoa Puffs.
“He puts up numbers, and he did it even when other guys were taking performance-enhancers,” Braves teammate David Ross said. “He’s more like, ‘How many Advil should I take?’ I can’t corrupt him. He won’t even drink a Red Bull. I want to punch him.”
All of which makes you wonder how it could be that the Braves and McCann may part ways at some point in the near future.
The Braves are off to a good start. They own the second-best record in the National League after Tuesday’s 6-2 win over Cincinnati. Until this game, almost everybody had been hitting except McCann (.231), their most consistent player over the past several seasons. But after he homered, walked and singled in his first three at-bats, maybe that aberration is complete.
There figured to be a market correction. With a career average of .286, McCann has been too good for too long for him to not rebound. The question is whether those numbers will factor into what the Braves do next with McCann contractually.
His salary this year jumped to $11.5 million (after escalators). The Braves have a $12 million club option for next season, but negotiating during a contract year can be problematic. So logic suggests the team and McCann’s agent will start talking soon.
But are the Braves fully committed to re-signing McCann? St. Louis signed catcher Yadier Molina to a five-year, $75 million extension. If we assume that’s the benchmark, it questionable whether Wren will give a long-term, $15 million-a-year deal to a catcher. There’s no room for McCann (now 28) to eventually move to first base (Freddie Freeman), and the National League doesn’t use the designated hitter.
“We have a mutual understanding of how we’ll approach this process,” Wren said of negotiations, not elaborating. It’s executive Latin for, “No comment.”
McCann said, “I understand it’s a business. They have to do what’s best for them, and I have to do what’s best for me. I’m just going to play as hard as I can and let everything else fall into place.”
This much is certain: There were fan backlashes after the way the Braves handled the exits of John Smoltz and Tom Glavine. Those guys were at the end of their careers. If the Braves decide a popular player in his prime such as McCann is too expensive, even with Chipper Jones coming off the books, cars may be torched.
How McCann plays this season has obvious ramifications. He struggled in the second half last season (.203) after hitting .310 at the All-Star break. He acknowledges now he came back too early from a strained oblique, saying, “Ninety mile-an-hour pitches were looking 95. The game sped up on me. If that happened again, I would definitely play a few more games in Triple A.”
This season, he feels “seven to 10 hits” have been lost to opponents often shifting their defense to the right. But he says he’s healthy, adding, “When I’m feeling good I get hits. I just have to start using the whole field. I have to start making that shift irrelevant.”
The knock on McCann always has been his defense, but his backup, Ross, believes criticism is overstated. Statistics show McCann annually allows among the most stolen bases in the league, which no doubt will be brought up in talks. But Ross believes the numbers are skewed, saying, “We don’t have the quickest pitchers to the plate.”
At worse, Ross said, McCann is “average” on defense.
“When you consider his offense and that he calls a great game, I’ll take that,” he said. “Mac’s one of the best. Catching is a demanding position. It’s not like you’re an outfielder and can take an inning off because you didn’t get a fly ball hit to you. I just hope the Braves realize what they have.”
A split is something most would rather not think about right now. But one-team athletes like Chipper Jones are a rarity.
By Jeff Schultz
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214 comments Add your comment
JJ
May 15th, 2012
10:00 pm
Ole Timer, who watches CNN anyway..its a F-joke!
Jeff Schultz
May 15th, 2012
10:02 pm
Kimbrel played with fire but it’s over.
Column updated.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2012/05/15/mccann-hopes-to-rebound-contract-situation-lingering/
Bill
May 15th, 2012
10:07 pm
Thanks Jeff…Good-night
Knucksie
May 15th, 2012
10:10 pm
What other lead off hitters/outfielders are going into free agent years, catchers too. I’d love to see Andrew McCutchen (but that will not happen) in a Braves uni
Delbert D.
May 15th, 2012
10:24 pm
With the Braves no real owner, it’s hard to predict what will happen.
Hillbilly D
May 15th, 2012
10:24 pm
Catching takes quite a toll on the body and catchers get old faster than other players. This is McCann’s 7th full year in the Big Leagues and he’ll most likely go over 1000 games played, this year. That has to be taken into consideration, when you’re talking contract. It’ll come down to money and length of contract, I’d guess, as to whether he stays or goes.
Delbert D.
May 15th, 2012
10:26 pm
I didn’t really leave out words, did ?
Buckheadbrave
May 15th, 2012
10:28 pm
I just hope their offer doesn’t insult the guy……
Michael G.
May 15th, 2012
10:29 pm
as long as the team is operating under budget constraints, there’s no way we can or should resign McCann. The Braves can’t afford to overpay for a guy that’s only going to have diminishing returns at that position, no matter how beloved a figure he is in the city. It is, after all, a business.
Buckheadbrave
May 15th, 2012
10:30 pm
With that said I’d go 5-60 for Bourn and 3-45 for McCann
Nativebird
May 15th, 2012
10:40 pm
Sign Brian Mccan? Get comfortable with this; he’s Just a pure net cost to Liberty Media. No economic return on investment whatsoever. Really, just call the accounting department. There’s some mid-level Manger in a cubicle somewhere in the Liberty finance organization right now whose job it is to input the total expense line called “Atlanta Braves” on a spreadsheet once a year……this is who is running this franchise. And This is why they will never win a world series under current ownership.
Brownie
May 15th, 2012
10:43 pm
This may just come down to Mac vs Bourn. yes, the Braves have a great deal of money coming available with the departures of Chipper, Jurrjens and Lowe (approx $30m+), however they’ve got some paydays upcoming to worry about with Prado, Heyward, Freeman, Kimbrel, O’Flaherty, Venters, Medlin, etc.
Mac has been great during his career here – but the question will be length of term as much as dollars. He’s nearing 30 yrs old, and his body will begin to show the wear soon (maybe already is). His batting average and results will begin to drop steadily, along with his catching skills.
Bottom line is you can’t pay big contract dollars based on past performance – it’s got to be based on expected future results….the ugly business side of baseball.
Bourn is the same age, but in significantly better physical shape, playing CF will take less a toll, is a high OBP lead-off hitter….more of an impact player for the Braves in the future. If they have to choose between to two, I’d take Bourn.
The Braves have NO CF’ers coming thru the ranks (certainly not leadoff hitter caliber), but have 2 strong catching prospects. That has to be taken into account.
IF Mac’s agent goes for big money, but more importantly a long contract….Mac may just end up in the AL so the DH can be in his future. Nobody wants him to leave now, and neither does he likely, but it might just have to happen.
Bravesfan79
May 15th, 2012
10:50 pm
Keep Mccan, and Bourne!
P Rose
May 15th, 2012
10:50 pm
Ever wonder why Atlanta always seems to have so many excellent pitchers, why they raise so many good ones on the farm, and why pitchers from other organizations seem to turn their careers around after they come to Atlanta? The answer is simple: Brian McCann. The Braves will resign him long-term.
Jake
May 15th, 2012
10:51 pm
There’s a knock on his defense for good reason. On his best days, he’s mediocre. And it’s not just about allowing steals. He’s the worst catcher I’ve ever seen when it comes to blocking balls in the dirt. Instead of blocking the ball, he tries to catch them. Whether it’s laziness or poor technique it’s hard to say, but it seems like every other day balls get by him and runners move up into scoring position. It’s shocking to see in a major leaguer, and interesting how none of the announcers call him on it.
cdog
May 15th, 2012
10:55 pm
good catchers are hard to find.braves should resign him whatever it takes. hes one of the best
cabbage
May 15th, 2012
11:05 pm
no brainer…Bourn. excellent leadoff and a golden glove vs reasonably capable hitter with avg defensive ability
Here we go again..
May 15th, 2012
11:43 pm
Was there really that much backlash surrounding Glavine and Smoltz, besides from themselves? I think history proved the Braves were right in both of those situations. Nobody picked up Glavine although he had numerous “options” and ask Boston about Smoltz.
Blog comments are retarded
May 15th, 2012
11:48 pm
You bring up McCann’s contract numbers over his first six seasons. The Braves might have gotten a “bargin” in 2010 (5.7M) and in 2011 (6.7M) but in those arbitration years, McCann could have made maybe 6M & 8.5M respectively? McCann also had the privilege of getting a guaranteed contract. That HAS to be worth something. At best, the Braves “bargin” is a wash. McCann was paid well for a player with <6 years of service and because he chose the guaranteed money, he gave up a little in terms of actual cash.
I don't think the Braves are working from a deficit (in terms of negotiating with McCann). It was a fair deal when it was signed and included considerable risk for the team, especially with McCann's position on the field.
In the end, I don't think a contract gets worked out. The Braves have Heyward, Hanson, Venters, Martinez and Medlen eligible for arbitration for the first time in '13. Prado is entering his final year of arbitration. In '14, Kimbrel, Freeman and Beachy will be eligible for arbitration. There are a lot of young players that will be requiring money that could potentially be tied up in McCann.
McCann deserves every penny that he can get, but unfortunately, with a payroll under $95M, I don't see it happening in Atlanta.
John Malone, please sell the Braves to a billionaire who wants a new toy and doesn't mind losing money to win. Thanks.
Maybe Gattis should return to his duties behind the plate.
Here we go again..
May 15th, 2012
11:50 pm
Hey Jeff, I recall the Braves stepping up and giving McCann the largest contract for a player with less than two years experience back at the time in 2007. Any chance he remembers that?
JASon
May 16th, 2012
12:03 am
Hey Brian, do you have any connection to atlanta, the fans you ingrateful pr!ck. All you have to say for yourself is its a business you piece of crap. You’re making that much money and its a f-ing “business”
Go f yourself how is that for business
PaulieOldschool
May 16th, 2012
12:03 am
Great. So we won’t pay Broun or McCann and they will depart our fair city for places where someone who understands the game and the financial aspects of same reside. Brilliant.
BC
May 16th, 2012
12:25 am
Please delete the stupid first comments.
rw
May 16th, 2012
12:34 am
I hate to say this, but McCann might be better off going to an American league team where he could catch 120 games per year and DH another 30 games per year. He could probably extend his career by a year or two and there’s not as much risk for an American League team on the backend of the contract because of the option to move him to DH if the physical wear and tear of catching becomes too much.
Dmac
May 16th, 2012
1:10 am
Native Bird – I agree with you 100%. The braves are nothing but a budget line item for Liberty Media. Not a single Liberty Media Executive has even attended a Braves game. It is a shame that Major League Baseball even allowed them to be sold as a tax free stock transaction. Look at the Braves who have mostly held payroll for the last five to seven years when teams like the Phillies spend double on their payroll. I wish Ted Turner would up and buy them again. Bourn has been a huge excitement but I don’t think it matters if we sign McCann or not, they won’t pay the money for Bourn. Or McCann.
Rob Go Braves
May 16th, 2012
1:56 am
Wren and the Braves need to find a way to keep both McCann and Bourne. I’ll kick in my share by over paying for parking, beer, and dogs.
clay
May 16th, 2012
3:45 am
Mcann will be a brave for years to come. He will give the Braves the home team discount. You can tell he wants to start and finish his career here.
SawThat1nce
May 16th, 2012
4:21 am
I don’t know if McCann’s body can hold up for another 5 years, after 2013, playing in the NL.
Army Strong
May 16th, 2012
4:27 am
I feel the need to address a few comments knocking McCann’s leadership ability. . . Does anyone recall Chipper calling Brian the new face of the franchise (after he leaves)? The front office will surely have a HoF 3rd basemen and a HoF former manager whispering in their ear when negotiations heat up. Imagine what message the front office would be sending by not re-signing McCann. It would effectively go something along the lines of, “we drafted, signed, and re-signed you. But your six straight All-Star games, and five straight silver sluggers just aren’t quite what we’re looking for”.
Who will be the new face of the franchise if he leaves? Jason Heyward: The junior 22 year-old outfielder who has yet to show consistency? Freddie Freeman: An accomplished, but even younger 22 year-old sophomore? Michael Bourn (assuming he re-signs): The veteran who has been a Brave less than 2 full seasons? I ask, and I answer: no one. There are alot of young, talented players. But none have the veteran presence and a knowledge of this team and city the way Mac does.
Statistically, what Yadier can’t hit, he makes up for with his defense; evidenced by his three Gold Gloves in the past four years. He’s a respectable .275 hitter and has shown recent pop. He’s a year older than Brian, but in the prime of his career none-the-less. He handles his staff like no one else in the game. He’s a leader in the clubhouse. He’s everything Mac is to the Braves on and off the field.
I see Brian looking at a very similar deal to Yadier’s at 5 yrs/ 15-17 mil/year. That will free up cap space once the deal reaches its end in case the Braves want to sign long-term deals to some of the 13 young guys (Beachy, Heyward, Freeman, Minor, etc.) making <$750,000. I hope the boys can get this deal done. There's no one else I'd rather have representing the Braves organization than number 16.
Gritsfalcon
May 16th, 2012
5:20 am
Good article and I have wondered what the status is of his contract negotiations (or lack there of) now I know. I hope they can resign him.
chipper's ACL
May 16th, 2012
6:52 am
This will be a tough call but let’s look at the reality of the situation. Yes Brian is an offensive plus for the team but most teams don’t depend on thier catcher to produce. Good defense, game calling, and a little power is all that is expected. Injury is just a slide away. Locking up an offensive catcher, not a complete catcher, wuld not be team wise. The obvious talked about stats are there, errors, passed balls, etc. Digging deeper look at team ERA between Mac and Ross. The drop in starter innings per start have been low for years. How is it Hanson averages less than 6 innings per start? Falls back to the person calling the game. Yes we all love Mac for who he is and what he does but this is a results based game. Locking him up for 5-6 years would hinder the team in the long haul, especially if a dreaded injury does occur. Trade him this off season or at the deadline next year, receive 4 good prospects and use the funds to sure up center and any additional holes.
dcb
May 16th, 2012
7:13 am
Professional sports in general is only “a business” because of the agents. I mean what more do you need than 11.5 mil a year? Perhaps the clubs ought to start thinking of giving a percentage of the annual profits of the Club in addition to a reasonable base salary for the big names – and not the big guaranteed bucks that are now being made regardless of whether on the disabled list or performance. Its crazy to think of this as “just a business” – where is the loyalty, where is the commitment to the long-time fan? Gone – just like I wish were the agents who have literally made millions, but ruined the attraction of the professional arena …. in virtually all sports where there are no guarantees and players are only paid on the basis of performance such as golf and tennis.
Greg
May 16th, 2012
7:16 am
We all like Brian. However, usually when you sign a guy to huge deal when his best years might be behind him you live to regret it. Baseball needs performance based contracts.
BobDawg
May 16th, 2012
7:29 am
Let’s face it, with Chipper gone after this year we need all the “good bats” in the lineup we can find…
BobDawg
May 16th, 2012
7:31 am
ROB GO BRAVES… well said…. We really need to pack the park this summer so they can get these guys signed in the next few years….
BobDawg
May 16th, 2012
7:32 am
DMAC…. the Phils are packing 45,000+ every night in their park….
Merson
May 16th, 2012
7:33 am
It would be a shame to let one of the best catchers in baseball get way…..Mac is 28, made all-star 6 years in a row, to smart of a hitter, gotta rest him a day or two more with Ross every now and then….Atlanta has the best catcher 1-2 position in baseball……Plus who is ready in minors to fill his shoes, (no one) much less next years free agents…..No one of Mac’s production……SIGN B MAC!
danny
May 16th, 2012
8:03 am
I love Mac, but if I am the GM, you have to trade him. He is already showing signs of breaking down a tad and it’s only going to get worse. We have no where else to put him on the field. A team like Boston would give the farm foe Mac right now. IMHO, and hate saying this because I absolutely LOVE Mac, you have to sign Bourn over him. Not to mention all the young players who’s contracts will soon be coming up ( Heyward, Kimbrel, Freeman, Venters)
Let's Go
May 16th, 2012
8:03 am
There is just no way you can give a catcher at his age a 5 or 6 year contract for 15 mil a year. At 28 years of age McCann is starting his downward slide and probably has 4 really productive “catcher years” left. I would like to see the the Braves offer a 3 year extention at the 13/14 mil a season level and at the end of that contract let him go to the AL and DH part of the time. Who knows by then maybe the senior circuit has the DH in place.
As far as Bourn goes it may be interesting to see how this plays out since no matter what the Braves want to do Scott Borus is not going to let his client sign an extention at this point in the season. With Victorino a free agent at the end of the year Borus probably feels the Phillies will be go for him and if he can find another team to be interested he might be able to then jack his price up some more.
Now is the time for the Braves to offer contract extentions to Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward and avoid the whole arbitration years like they did with Brian McCann and tried to with Jeff Francoeur.
southgabrave
May 16th, 2012
8:08 am
Bourne- 4yrs 50 mil and 5yr team option @ 9.5 mil with incentives of up to 4.5 mil. McCann 4yrs @ 65mil ( 1st yr 15 mil 2nd yr 16mil 3rd yr 17 4th yr 17mil) mutual option for 5th year @ 13.5mil with incentives up to 4.5mil.
The last year of each contract would offer a raise to each player if they are still performing t a hig level. There could be many incenitives in each contract so the last year could excalate depending on performance in the contract year. In Mac’s case he would be tradeable for a dh position if he could no longer catch in 5 years.
There are many complex issues in this type contract but I think something along these lines could be worked out. Front load the contract and load the backside with incentives. That way they could either be traded on keep and paid based on performance at the backside of the contract. The lower base at the backside makes the easier to trade.
Work something out for these two players!
DawgDad
May 16th, 2012
8:13 am
” If the Braves decide a popular player in his prime such as McCann is too expensive, even with Chipper Jones coming off the books, cars may be torched.”
By whom? I don’t think Braves fans want to see the team hamstrung with burdensome contracts. If the Braves wind up in a highest-bidder war they need to sit on their pocketbook and not commit too much money over too long a period. The length of the contract may be more important than the dollars per year.
In many respects Bourn would be a better investment than McCann. He’s proving himself to be a catalyst in the Lou Brock mold, he won’t block any up-and-coming stars, and he’s not near as big a risk of breaking down. McCann’s biggest issue in remaining a Brave is his inability to play other positions; he may be worth more money and years to an AL team and if he is, so be it. That said, I give the Braves about a 0% chance of signing Bourn. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, but do you want the Braves to commit a third of their payroll for the next six years to these two players?
Winston
May 16th, 2012
8:20 am
Ross sounds like Mac’s agent. Could it be that he’s happy playing every 5th day for $1.5 million? Not a bad gig if you can get it.
bob
May 16th, 2012
8:25 am
The Braves need new owners who will spend money and sign and keep Prado, McCann, and expecially Bourne. If they don’t sign Bourne they will be making the same mistake as when they let Raffy go and we haven’t had a decent lead-off guy since. Keep Bourne. He’s worth whatever!!!
Steve
May 16th, 2012
8:26 am
I know the Braves like what they have coming up for the future but they are still a few years away. Teams would be licking their chops to pay McCann what he wants. I will say this though what kind of numbers could Ross put up if he was made the everyday catcher?
GX
May 16th, 2012
8:46 am
I’m assuming the bit about not even drinking a Red Bull is a recent trend. Didn’t McCann say his vision problems from a while back were related to drinking energy drinks all the time?
sldkfjslk
May 16th, 2012
8:48 am
Trade him for an outfielder. He doesn’t have that many good years left in him. If he turns it around this year he will be at peak value. Braves fans get too emotional and want to hang on to their players too long. Get some value back from him now. Use Ross and develop Bethancourt. It’s about winning games not coddling fan favorites.
boog
May 16th, 2012
8:51 am
Mac is good but 15 mil per yr. like Molina…no way. Bourn is a must sign. If we get Mac for 10-12 for 3 or 4 yrs. then ok… anything over that is just dumb.
Conspiracy Theory
May 16th, 2012
9:00 am
I think we accept both Bmac and Huddy’s options for 2013 (BMAC, $12M, Huddy, $9M, and there are buy-outs of $1M and $500K if we do not accept the team options). Those seem to be no-brainers. Chipper and Lowe come off the books, and free agents Bourn, Ross, Hinske, Diaz, Wilson, Hernandez, and Durbin are possibly gone, if the Braves do not re-sign them. That frees up about $38M. BUT we will have a number of arbitration raises: Prado, Jurrjens, and O’Flaherty are all arb-3. Venters, Hanson, Medlin, Beachy, and Heyward are all arb-1. My guess is that raises for all these arb-eligible guys will eat about $15M. So that leaves about $23M in 2013 to either re-sign our FA’s or sign new FA’s. It will be interesting to see how the Jurrjens situation plays out, he is making $5.5M in 2012, if he does not turn it around he could be released in 2013.
But re-signing Bourn for 2013 is going to take a mountain of money, my guess is $120M, 7 years. I doubt the Braves go that high. And signing BMac for 2014 and beyond is also likely to take something like 7 years, $135M. I doubt the current managemtn takes that. An AL team, where he can DH occasionally, looks more likely.
go chipper go
May 16th, 2012
9:04 am
do whatever it takes to keep McCann …… do whatever it takes to get rid of Heyward !
Geeze
May 16th, 2012
9:06 am
This team is clicking right now and then you go and write an article like this. Thank you for this dose of Wednesday morning depression Mr. Schultz.