McCann-do attitude: Veteran catcher bringing stability to O's staff

SARASOTA, Fla. -- It didn’t take long for James McCann to formulate an opinion of the Orioles’ pitching staff this spring. The 32-year-old catcher raved about the arms in the organization on only the second day of camp.

“The talent is undeniable,” McCann said. “It’s pretty incredible -- the talent, the depth that it looks like there is, just with the amount of guys that are vying for spots, that have a chance to impact this team at the big league level.

“It’s going to be exciting to be a part of that youth movement and helping those guys develop and take their game to the next level.”

McCann is a valuable resource in that regard. He has a star-studded list of hurlers he’s worked with and helped guide throughout his nine-year big league career.

While with the Tigers from 2014-18, McCann caught David Price and Justin Verlander. The backstop paired with Dylan Cease and Lucas Giolito during his two-year stint with the White Sox in '19 and '20. And over the past two years with the Mets, McCann worked with Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.

So if a young Baltimore pitcher has a question about how stuff might play at the big league level, or about how to approach particular hitters, McCann should have answers, considering he’s been behind the dish for some of the game’s elite.

“He is willing to share information, and he communicates so well with our guys,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He speaks up in meetings. He’s working really well with the catching corps, also, but he’s also a guy that’s caught some really good pitchers over the course of his career. And he’s got a lot of knowledge.”

It’s not only the youngsters in O’s camp who are benefiting from McCann, though. Fellow veteran newcomers Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin -- who got the start in the Orioles' 10-7 walk-off win over the Phillies on Monday -- have been complimentary of McCann’s defensive work and pitch-calling ability.

• Projecting the Orioles' Opening Day roster

Gibson was paired with McCann during his Grapefruit League debut against the Pirates last Friday. Although it was the first time the two worked together in game action, they had encountered each other as opponents plenty of times. McCann is 6-for-29 in his career vs. the 35-year-old right-hander.

“Just seeing him across the field for all these years, you can tell he’s a good target to throw to,” Gibson said. “Obviously, he knows the game. He knows these guys, how to attack hitters.”

An additional aspect of the pitcher/catcher relationship these days is PitchCom technology. Gibson wore the transmitter on his glove during his first exhibition start, and he believed it helped him and McCann get on the same page quickly despite some unfamiliarity.

Gibson didn’t need to shake off signals from McCann, because the two communicated what pitches they wanted to throw in certain situations. The hurler plans to keep using PitchCom as he continues to learn the styles of both McCann and Orioles starting catcher Adley Rutschman.

Irvin, who threw to McCann in his first Grapefruit outing last Wednesday, has been a fan of how the veteran backstop approaches the relationship between pitcher and catcher. Neither side is more in charge than the other.

“If I see something, he’s not afraid to let me just kind of take the reins,” Irvin said. “But if he sees something, so far we’ve had conversations about it in the dugout and just got to build off it.”

Baltimore had a backup catcher near the top of its offseason wish list, as the club wants to keep the 25-year-old Rutschman fresh. In McCann -- who was acquired in a trade with the Mets in December -- the Orioles not only got a No. 2 backstop, but an experienced player who can also get time at first base/DH and has an invaluable baseball mind.

This hasn’t been the first time McCann has spent Spring Training getting acclimated to new surroundings, as Baltimore marks his fourth team in six seasons. And while the results of the games this time of year aren’t important, he realizes the six weeks he’s spending with the pitchers are.

When a hurler faces a jam in a midseason contest and needs to lean on his catcher to get him through it, they’ll have trust in each other, due to the bond constructed throughout camp.

“Getting in there and catching them and seeing pitch shapes, seeing maybe something they’re working on, keywords that help them get to what they want to be able to do,” McCann said. “It’s the most important time right now.”