Brian McCann was a seven-time All-Star when he signed a five-year, $85 million contract to become the Yankees catcher. Less than three years later, he’s lost the job he was brought in to solidify.
McCann has been told by manager Joe Girardi that he will primarily be used as a DH for the rest of the season — and catch “here and there” — while rookie sensation Gary Sanchez becomes the team’s everyday catcher.
McCann, who has made one start behind the plate since Aug. 5, wouldn’t say whether he was upset about the move, but didn’t blast the decision. Having watched the 23-year-old’s near-daily domination, McCann could only acknowledge that Sanchez has earned the opportunity.
“Listen,” McCann said, starting, then restarting the sentence multiple times over an 11-second span. “He’s a stud. You know what I’m saying? It’s a time where he’s gonna play and he’s gonna play a lot.
“He’s a future All-Star, year in and year out. There’s not many guys walking around with his talent. It’s gonna be nice to see him grow into that player. … I consider him one of the better, if not best, young catchers since I’ve been in the big leagues.”
McCann, 32, was once that player himself, though he has hit no better than .232 in three seasons with the Yankees after hitting .277 over nine seasons in Atlanta. After grounding out to first as a pinch hitter in the ninth Wednesday, McCann said he wasn’t thinking about his future with the team.
“I’m not thinking of anything past tomorrow,” McCann said.
With Alex Rodriguez gone and Mark Teixeira retiring at the end of the season, McCann could be the primary DH next season. The catcher could also be traded, as the Yankees reportedly nearly made happen with the Braves before the Aug. 1 deadline.
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said he wasn’t sure what the team would do with McCann if Sanchez continues raking.
“It was always the case that Sanchez at some point was going to come up, and hopefully come up to stay,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ll cross that bridge in the offseason when we come to it, but McCann’s a great player too. We’ll just have to figure it out.”
Sanchez, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk in the 7-4 loss to Toronto, earned a promotion to the cleanup spot after hitting two homers the previous night. Becoming the youngest Yankee to bat cleanup before September since Don Mattingly (1984), Sanchez hit his fifth home run since being called up Aug. 3, each one traveling more than 400 feet.
Sanchez also became the youngest Yankee to hit a home run as the cleanup hitter since Bobby Murcer in 1969.
“When I go out there, I’m not thinking of hitting home runs,” Sanchez said through a translator. “The mentality is just to go out there and put a good swing on the ball. Fortunately good things are coming out.”
In 12 games since being called up, Sanchez is batting .360 with five homers and 11 RBIs, with half of his 16 hits going for extra bases.
Though Girardi wouldn’t explicitly label Sanchez the everyday catcher, the manager conceded he will be behind the plate most games and believes McCann can handle the situation.
“Everyone in that room wants to win and I think they understand,” Girardi said. “Mac is OK DH’ing and catching once in a while. He understands that this is what we’re doing, so it is not difficult.”
— Additional reporting by Ken Davidoff in Houston