Whatever issues Brian McCann was having before May 6 are gone. The Atlanta Braves catcher has been red hot since his return from the disabled list and had an eight-game hitting streak snapped on Monday. With his 10 home runs and 28 RBI accompanied by a .295 batting average and .376 on-base percentage, McCann appears to be playing his way towards a fat paycheck that will not be provided by the Braves.
MLB Trade Rumors expects McCann to be rewarded with Yadier Molina money, meaning a 5-year contract for around $75 million. However, since McCann is turning 30 during this upcoming offseason, MLB Trade Rumors also expects an American League team to walk out as the winner in the McCann Sweepstakes as they will eventually turn the now catcher into a designated hitter.
Though the Braves invested heavily on outfielder B.J. Upton, the relevancy of it becoming a good use of finances becomes minute as the organization has younger players it needs to focus on to keep around. For example, Freddie Freeman is a true star. Freeman probably had his hype robbed since he arrived a year after Jason Heyward, but he has displayed potential to become household name for years to come. If Heyward can put everything together and find more consistency with his skill set that everyone fell in love with, then odds are he will rewarded heftily by the Braves. Andrelton Simmons is another up-and-coming star in the making. Player, managers and broadcasters everywhere praise the kid, saying he has the best glove at shortstop in the majors.
Who will take over McCann's spot?
El Oso Blanco, Evan Gattis, who is currently on the DL, has proven during his short time in the Bigs that he can call great games and play the position well. He's also impressed greatly with his bat, smacking 14 home runs in the first 53 games of his career. He is under team control until 2019, so the organization might have bumped into their starting catcher for years to come.
Due to McCann's susceptibility to injury, chances are he won't get the $75 million that Molina received from the St. Louis Cardinals. However, a team like the New York Yankees or Detroit Tigers might be willing to dish out some cash as their offense is lacking a productive catcher.
