The first positive move of the 2025-26 offseason for Arizona has happened, with the new that catcher James McCann will be returning to the fold next year. Ken Rosenthal was first with the news, Nick Piecoro
then following up with details. It is a one-year contract for $2.75 million, with bonuses which can add up to another half a million on top of that.
McCann started the season with the Braves on a minor-league contract, but was given his freedom by them in late June, after not cracking their major-league roster. Arizona were in need of a catcher at that point, because Gabriel Moreno was out with a broken finger. That allowed McCann to end his deal with Atlanta, because he had a clause for that, if another team wanted to sign him onto their 26-man roster. He duly signed with the D-backs the next day, and performed very well down the stretch. Over 42 games, he hit .260/.324/.431 for a .754 OPS (107 OPS+), and also handled the pitching staff well. His catcher’s ERA of 4.02 was the lowest figure of any of the three regulars (McCann, Moreno and Jose Herrera).
He certainly seems to have enjoyed playing for Arizona, telling SI at the end of the season, “I loved my time here. I’ve told people how much fun this team is. It’s a really good group of guys, a very talented group of guys, and you see despite all the injuries, despite the amount of different players that had to step up in different roles… we were in the hunt until the last weekend of the season. Obviously, it’s not the ending we wanted, but I think this is a great group of not just players in the clubhouse, but also support staff, coaching staff. I think this organization has done a tremendous job of building a culture here that players enjoy being a part of.”
That may well have been a factor in him returning to the D-backs, on a reasonably-priced deal. The 35-year-old is likely not able to take on a full-time role – he hasn’t played seventy games in a season since 2021 – but should be a valuable alternate to Moreno. Having a solid back-up like McCann may help avoid Gabriel wearing down: it’s a long season, and playing as a catcher is the most physically demanding position on the field. It’ll be interesting to see what this means for Jose Herrera and Adrian Del Castillo, who were previously likely to be candidates for the back-up role. One will likely go to Reno, but I suspect the other may be on their way out of Arizona, one way or the other.
